BBC iPlayer RSS programmes feed - accessibility/audio-describedhttp://bbc-rss.herokuapp.com/rss/tv/accessibility/audio-described.rss
Unofficial BBC iPlayer RSS feedsmike.ralphson@gmail.com (Mike Ralphson)Tue, 20 Nov 2018 00:08:46 GMTbbcparse by Mermade Software http://github.com/mermade/bbc-rss100 Days to Victory / Series 1: 2. The Fightbackhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bq0d4b
The Allies win a great victory at Amiens. The tide is turning, but the victors are under no illusions. The German Army remains a daunting fighting force and it has an ace up the sleeve: the Hindenburg Line - the most formidable defensive system in military history. If the Allies are to have any hope for victory, they need to find a way to punch through Germany's wall of steel.
The generals formulate an ambitious plan incorporating newly minted 'combined arms' tactics on a massive scale. They commit artillery, tanks, aircraft and troops in careful concert, to attack the Hindenburg Line in the centre, the north and south. It becomes clear that only the combined might of the Allies on the Western Front can finally defeat Germany.
The generals lead their forces in a series of battles to break the line. The Canadians get close, the French get close, then on 29th September 1918, a combined Australian, British and American force breaks through. The Germans have no answer to this onslaught and soon seek peace negotiations.
Today, we widely remember Gallipoli, the Somme and Passchendaele. All were failures. And yet, the extraordinary achievements by the Allied armies on the fields of France in the final months of World War I should also be remembered. At Amiens and the Hindenburg Line, the Allies - spearheaded by the Australians and the Canadians - forced a crushing defeat upon Germany to win the war in what some call the finest feat of arms of the 20th Century.audio_videoPID:b0bq0d4bTue, 30 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTA Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad / Series 1: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpyvvh
Three-part series delving into the story of the Assad dynasty. Right at the centre of it are President Bashar and his wife Asma, who met and fell in love in London. Bashar al-Assad trained to be an eye doctor at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington and Asma was a British-born girl from a Syrian family with a career in investment banking. Over a decade ago, they were being welcomed with open arms in Britain. Today, they are entrenched in a brutal war that has led to some of the most horrifying crimes of modern times. Told through rarely seen footage and testimony of those who knew them, worked with them and studied them, the series explores how the couple, who at first were seen as a modernising force, ended up running a regime accused of war crimes.
The final episode gives the view from the presidential palace as the country descends into civil war, charting the moral lines crossed over the past seven years. Bashar al-Assad has been president of Syria for a decade, while his wife Asma is enjoying her role as first lady, pushing charity drives and encouraging schoolchildren to discuss democracy. As a glamorous profile of Asma appears in Vogue magazine, the Arab Spring protests reach Syria. Bashar must decide whether to concede to their demands for greater freedom or follow in his father Hafez's hard line steps. What unfolds shocks the world in its brutality. As the chaos of civil war rages, the so-called Islamic State emerges and it looks like Bashar is on the brink of losing the Assad dynasty's control of Syria. Then a saviour emerges, turning the war back in his favour.audio_videoPID:b0bpyvvhTue, 23 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTThe Adventures of Abney & Teal / Series 2: 23. The Camerahttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p11c4
Animated adventures of two friends who live on an island in the middle of the big city. Abney's got a camera. Soon Neep gets a go too, and his photos are really special.audio_videoPID:b01p11c4Mon, 19 Nov 2018 18:20:00 GMTAfrica / 2. Savannahhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pwtsj
East Africa is a land which is constantly changing. To survive here, creatures must be able to deal with unpredictable twists and turns - wet turning to dry, feast to famine, cold to hot - no matter how hostile it becomes.
From dense forests to snow-capped peaks, steamy swamps and endless savannah, this unique and varied land is also a haven for life, supporting large animals in numbers found nowhere else on Earth. But away from the familiar, forever-travelling herds, there are a huge cast of other characters - lizards that steal flies from the faces of lions, vast dinosaur-like birds who stalk catfish through huge wetlands, and an eagle who risks everything on the arrival of ten million bats from a far-off rainforest.audio_videoPID:b01pwtsjThu, 07 Jun 2018 15:42:44 GMTA History of Christianity / 2. Catholicism: The Unpredictable Rise of Romehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ntrs7
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch's grandfather was a devout pillar of the local Anglican church and felt that any dabbling in Catholicism was liable to pollute the English way of life. But now his grandfather isn't around to stop him exploring the extraordinary and unpredictable rise of the Roman Catholic church.
Over one billion Christians look to Rome, more than half of all Christians on the planet. But how did a small Jewish sect from the backwoods of 1st-century Palestine, which preached humility and the virtue of poverty, become the established religion of western Europe - wealthy, powerful and expecting unfailing obedience from the faithful?
Amongst the surprising revelations, MacCulloch tells how confession was invented by monks on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and how the Crusades gave Britain the university system.
Above all, it is a story of what can be achieved when you have friends in high places.audio_videoPID:b00ntrs7Sun, 18 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTA House Through Time / Series 1: Episode 4http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09pwbxf
In the final episode of the series, historian David Olusoga traces the history of the house in Liverpool from 1945 to the present day. He finds that these are challenging times for the city, when poverty and dereliction are widespread and the neighbourhood struggles with record unemployment. David begins his search at the year 1945, when Liverpool's multicultural community is recovering from the war and housing is in short supply. He meets the son of a young pair of newlyweds called the Quayles, setting up their first home in the attic during the postwar austerity years.
David then tracks the rapid decline of the house in the mid-20th century and meets one of a family of seven who lived in two rooms in the house without the most basic facilities. He then sees how the house was abandoned and narrowly escaped the wrecking ball by a strange twist of fate. David then pieces together the evidence to discover what happened to the house during the 1970s, when the house is apparently abandoned, only to be rescued by an enterprising group of local activists and converted into a new home for creative people. These include a successful playwright and a young restaurateur who was part of the Liverpool gay scene at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
He then sees how the house, after decades as a boarding house and a shabby set of rooms-for-rent, is restored to its former glory as a single home, and reveals its colourful history to the current owner.audio_videoPID:b09pwbxfSat, 27 Oct 2018 17:30:00 GMTAlex Higgins: The People's Championhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tmzfb
One man transfixed television viewers during snooker's golden age - Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins. This poignant documentary charts the remarkable rise and fall of the snooker genius, from his early days growing up in Belfast to his climb to the top of the sport as two-time world champion.
Higgins was pure showbiz, a mercurial talent at the table who played the game like nobody had done before. Boxing had Muhammad Ali, football was blessed by George Best - snooker had Alex Higgins. Yet like Best, Higgins's brilliance was flawed by his demons. We chart the depressing lows - the alcohol abuse, threatening to have fellow Ulsterman Dennis Taylor shot, headbutting a senior member of snooker's hierarchy and falling out of a top floor window and living to tell the tale after a row with his then-girlfriend.
The Higgins story is completed with the final chapter of his life spent battling throat cancer; desperate hours spent in pubs and working men's clubs trying to rekindle his halcyon days; finally unable to eat properly because he'd lost his teeth and in the end, ultimately found dead alone in sheltered accommodation.
At times uplifting, but at other moments very sad - this is a rollercoaster journey charting the life of snooker's 'rock and roll star'.
Contributors include Jimmy White, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Dennis Taylor, Barry Hearn, Steve Davis, Ray Reardon and members of the Higgins family.audio_videoPID:b00tmzfbThu, 15 Nov 2018 23:00:00 GMTAmazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby / Shorts: 2. ICEHOTEL, Swedenhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0btnwyd
Giles and Monica don their best thermals and extreme weather gear, and travel 200km north of the Arctic Circle to Sweden's Lapland. They enter a magical world of snow, ice, inky blue and pink skies, and ICEHOTEL, a regular feature of bucket lists. The hotel's team have given themselves their biggest challenge yet - to run an ICEHOTEL that will stay open 365 days of the year, powered by the sun.
Using two-tonne blocks of ice that have been hacked from the nearby River Torne, Giles works with a team of international artists to create individually crafted rooms designed to take your breath away. He meets Arne Bergh, responsible for ICEHOTEL's creative vision, who teaches him how to make drinking glasses from ice and even lets him put the finishing touches to the hotel's reception desk.
Beyond the hotel's unfinished walls, Monica meets head chef Alex, who introduces her to the art of using natural ingredients found locally in the nearby forest, and Manne, an 82-year-old Sami whose family have been herding reindeer since the 17th century. He supplies reindeer meat to ICEHOTEL, considered a delicacy in this part of the world.
Giles and Monica brave what can become as low as a minus 35-degree freeze with the inspirational team as they bring snow and ice to life - and prepare for their big night sleeping in a minus 5-degree bedroom.audio_videoPID:b0btnwydWed, 14 Nov 2018 22:37:25 GMTAncient Invisible Cities / Series 1: 3. Istanbulhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bkz22l
Classical historian Dr Michael Scott takes us on an extraordinary journey through the often-invisible treasures of one of the greatest ancient cities in the world - Istanbul. The city has been at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for over two and a half millennia. From the Greeks and Romans through the Ottomans to the Turks, Istanbul has been fought over, destroyed and rebuilt time after time.
First Michael brings the city's tumultuous history alive in one iconic building - the Hagia Sophia. Built by the Romans, this Christian Cathedral has survived earthquakes, riots, sieges and conquest to become a mosque and now a museum. As Michael explores, he reveals the ingenious solutions that enabled this awe-inspiring church to survive 1,500 years of turmoil. As Istanbul, once known as Constantinople, was built by Emperor Constantine to outdo Rome itself, Michael goes in search of the mighty city the emperor built - Constantinople. Michael discovers that Istanbul is built upon layer upon layer of history and culture, one era's buildings erected on top of the other. With the help of local archaeologists and experts, Michael delves into some surprising spaces, such as the once enormous Hippodrome. It began as a stadium for chariot racing but its foundations were later converted into a huge water cistern to supply the Emperor's Great Palace. Michael wades through its foul-smelling water to uncover the Hippodrome's secrets.
With many of the city's most extraordinary places concealed, out of sight or underground, we turn to the latest 3D-imaging technology to reveal them. Our scanning team help us to see the city as no human eye ever could, peeling back the layers of history, showing how the city has had to reinvent itself over and over through its turbulent past.audio_videoPID:b0bkz22lFri, 21 Sep 2018 21:00:00 GMTAndy's Baby Animals / 20. Lunchtimehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08dmlw7
Andy Day knows young animals all have favourite meals. For meerkats, a scorpion is a tasty desert treat. In Finland, raccoon dog pups stock up before winter arrives. Young capuchin monkeys learn how to hammer and roll shellfish to get them open.audio_videoPID:b08dmlw7Sun, 11 Nov 2018 14:30:00 GMTAndy's Prehistoric Adventures / 20. Andrewsarchus and Toothhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074bmj0
To finish Mrs Pickles's birthday surprise, Andy travels back in time 36 million years to find a tooth belonging to a giant carnivorous predator. When his trusty backpack is stolen, Andy enlists the help of a herd of giant brontothere to get it back.audio_videoPID:b074bmj0Sun, 18 Nov 2018 11:10:00 GMTAnimal Super Parents / 1. Going It Alonehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063hkgm
We reveal the weird and wonderful stories of some of the natural world's incredible single parents: their devotion, dedication and often jaw-dropping endeavour in order to see their babies through to adulthood.
From the slow loris covering her baby in toxic saliva to the Weddell seal putting her pup through winter boot camp, a weedy sea dragon cleverly camouflaging his eggs against his body and the female giant Pacific octopus sacrificing herself for her brood - we see how these parents are prepared to go the extra mile to arm the next generation with what they need to survive.audio_videoPID:b063hkgmTue, 23 Oct 2018 14:45:00 GMTA Northern Soulhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bshjrv
Director Sean McAllister returns to his hometown, Hull, as curator of its UK City of Culture opening. Back living with his 90-year-old parents and reflecting on changes to a city hit by cuts in public spending and divided by Brexit, Sean is drawn to the fringes of town where he encounters Steve - a struggling warehouse worker with a dream to take hip-hop to disadvantaged kids through his Beats Bus.
Sean is living with his parents for the first time in 20 years, observing tensions flare in a city where over one in three children are living in poverty and where 70% of people voted to leave the EU while at the same time the city is thriving in the renewed hope of the cultural spotlight. Eager to explore this further, Sean is drawn away from the bright lights of the blossoming city centre to the fringes of town, where he meets a struggling warehouse worker called Steve. He reminds Sean of himself 20 years ago - stuck in a dead-end factory job while harbouring creative dreams. Steve is a warehouse worker by day, hip-hop artist by night. He represents a forgotten generation whose dreams haven't been met. But Steve is also a deeply community driven optimist, who has also been trying to find a way to bring creativity and culture to the disadvantaged kids of the city. Kids like he once was - kids whose opportunities to build a better life are restricted by the world around them. Music has been his dream for 30 years and he saw the opportunity in the City of Culture year to start a project: the 'Beats Bus', a bus donated by his company and converted into a sound studio, allowing him to visit some of Hull's poorest schools and give kids a voice through music training and performance - a chance he never had.
Spending time with Steve, Sean also reflects upon his own story. Born and bred in Hull, Sean left school at 16 and went straight into dead-end factory work, eventually making a film in a pea factory that got him into film school. Sean has since enjoyed filming around the world - from Syria to Yemen - rarely looking back. But when Hull won the city of culture bid, Sean was asked to come 'home' to be creative director of the opening ceremony. Living with his 90-year-old parents Kath and Joe for the first time in years through 2017, Sean experienced the events through their eyes. Their running commentary recalls the opportunities and chances they had following a life at work. Their memories of the past also bring in a different perspective on Brexit - they remember how hard it was to join in the first place, and that this poets' city is built up of so many passing nationalities.
On the other hand, feeling abandoned and voiceless, Steve had voted to leave Europe in the Referendum. Observing the day-to-day frustrations of his life, you begin to understand why change - any kind of change - seems so appealing. Brought up by and back living with his single mother, Steve tries to compensate through his unwavering presence with his daughter and the complexities around seeing her is one of his biggest daily frustrations. Eromi lives with her mother several hours away by car, and he can only see her on days that he has enough time between shifts, and can find a friend to drive him there and back. Meanwhile the shadow of his estranged father looms large. Steve recognises that his misfortunes in childhood damaged his opportunities in life but they also equipped him better than most to step in and help these local kids in these crucial early years of development. Through the Beats Bus, he takes a group of children under his wing and they begin to thrive in no time. But it doesn't take Steve long to realise the price of culture, and of stepping out of his place to do something different. The more hours he puts into the Beats Bus the more his day job suffers and it eventually takes its toll - one mistake leads to warnings and finally to a demotion. We follow Steve over the course of the year as he struggles to balance his dream with his day-to-day work and life responsibilities.
As the film interweaves between Steve's story and daily struggles, and Sean's parents, their memories and echoes of the 'good old days', we see a proud industrial fishing town trying to reinvent itself through the spotlight that City of Culture brings. Steve soldiers on. But powerlessness, frustration and the entrapments of his life make his dreams all the more difficult to achieve.
Can Steve - against the odds - unlock the opportunities to build a better life? Is social mobility possible in cities like Hull? What role does culture have to play in this? How long do you hold onto your dreams for?audio_videoPID:b0bshjrvSun, 18 Nov 2018 23:20:00 GMTAntiques Roadshow / Series 41: 2. World War I Specialhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqw7gb
This special episode, filmed at the Etaples Military Cemetery in France, presents a selection of the most emotive and poignant items chosen by the team to mark the end of World War I and its aftermath.
From cherished mementoes of sacrifice and remembrance to surprising objects that offer an insight into care for the wounded, the programme reveals how the impact of World War I was felt across the world and by all sections of society.
Fiona Bruce and the team are profoundly moved by items including two poppies picked in the ruins of Ypres in 1915, a humble tray made by a soldier blinded by mustard gas and an extraordinary document that silenced the guns and brought the First World War to an end.
Militaria specialist Mark Smith hears the story of Nabi Ahmad Sidiqi, an Indian Army surgeon, while Siobhan Tyrrell finds out about Lady Dorothie Feilding, a volunteer nurse and ambulance driver who became the first woman to earn the Military Medal for bravery.
Hilary Kay also hears the remarkable story of a young musician who purchased a second-hand violin signed and dated '1915' and his quest to find out what happened to the man who made it - leading to an emotional meeting with a long-lost ancestor.audio_videoPID:b0bqw7gbSun, 04 Nov 2018 19:00:00 GMTApple Tree House / Series 2: 10. The Sound of Homehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b544vv
When Mali and Zainab deliver some food to their neighbour, Mrs Richards, she tells Mali all about the routine sounds that help her work out what's going on around the estate. Later, when Sam and Mali discover that Bella has used up all the blank paper for their school project, Mali has an idea. Inspired by Mrs Richards, Mali gets his friends to help him create a picture of the Apple Tree House estate using only sounds.audio_videoPID:b0b544vvFri, 26 Oct 2018 16:40:00 GMTAround the World in 80 Gardens / 10. South East Asia: Bangkok, Singapore and Balihttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009q86l
Monty Don visits the world's 80 most inspiring gardens, this time in south east Asia.
Since the 19th century, western gardeners have loved tropical gardens. Monty visits the archetype - the mysterious Jim Thompson's Garden in Bangkok. He seeks something more authentic in the Royal Palace gardens and the floating gardens of the canals of Bangkok. In Bali, his preconceptions are challenged again. Is the western picture of the exotic garden a construct?audio_videoPID:b009q86lSun, 04 Nov 2018 07:30:00 GMTArt of France / Series 1: 3. This Is the Modern Worldhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08f1bw0
In the final episode, Andrew begins with the impressionists. He plunges into one of the most wildly creative periods in the history of art, when France was changing at a rapid pace and angry young artists would reinvent how to paint, finding their muses in the bars, brothels and cabarets of belle epoque Paris and turning the world of art on its head. Monet, Degas and friends launched a febrile conversation about the role of painting in the modern world that would pave the way for just about every modern art movement of note, from the cubists to the Fauves, from the surrealists to the existentialists and from conceptual artists to the abstract expressionists.audio_videoPID:b08f1bw0Mon, 29 Oct 2018 01:00:00 GMTA Scottish Soldier: A Lost Diary of WWIhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brk5dm
Thousands of black soldiers fought in the First World War. Poet Jackie Kay tells the story of one of them - Arthur Roberts. Arthur grew up in Glasgow and joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1917. He fought at Ypres and kept a detailed diary, which gives us a unique account of the war. Arthur's evocative writing and sketches paint a vivid first-hand picture of life in the trenches. Like Arthur, Jackie Kay is a black Glaswegian, and she explores what it was like being black 100 years ago.audio_videoPID:b0brk5dmMon, 12 Nov 2018 22:30:00 GMTThe Assassination of Gianni Versace - American Crime Story / Series 1: 7. Ascenthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09zgbtx
1992. Donatella's self-doubt hampers her in Milan, but Andrew's certainty that he deserves success sees him brag, bluff and beguile his way to a new life, targeting wealthy men in San Diego.audio_videoPID:b09zgbtxFri, 16 Nov 2018 00:45:00 GMTA Timewatch Guide / Series 4: 2. The Vikings: Foe or Friend?http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08ybzhc
On 8 June 793 Europe changed forever. The famous monastery at Lindisfarne on the Northumbrian coast was suddenly attacked and looted by seafaring Scandinavians. The Viking Age had begun.
Professor Alice Roberts examines how dramatically the story of the Vikings has changed on TV since the 1960s. She investigates how our focus has shifted from viewing them as brutal, pagan barbarians to pioneering traders, able to integrate into multiple cultures. We also discover that without their naval technology we would never have heard of the Vikings, how their huge trading empire spread, and their surprising legacy in the modern world.audio_videoPID:b08ybzhcMon, 22 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTCaught Red Handed / Series 5: Episode 18http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088nypr
When a teenager gets home late in the small hours of the morning, it is not her mother waiting at the door - it's a burglar. And when a family shop comes under attack from thieves the owner comes up with a cunning plan, but the crook comes up with a cunning answer.audio_videoPID:b088nyprFri, 26 Oct 2018 11:15:00 GMTCBeebies Presents / The Tempesthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09xjby9
A magical island, a stormy shipwreck and a royal mystery!
Following on from CBeebies A Midsummer Night's Dream, Steven Kynman is back as William Shakespeare, this time with backstage help from Swashbuckle's Captain Captain. Andy Day takes on the fantastical Shakespearean role of the island monster Caliban, while Justin Fletcher is the king's comical jester, Trinculo. With Patrick Robinson as Prospero and Annette Badland as his good friend Gonzala, CBeebies The Tempest brings together an amazing cast to perform one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays.
Set on an island not far from Italy, the play tells the story of Prospero, one-time Duke of Milan, who lives with his daughter Miranda, their monster servant Caliban and a magical, musical and mostly invisible sprite called Ariel. Having been sent away from Milan 12 years earlier by his own brother Sebastian and King Alonso, Prospero has spent his time on the island practising his magic, studying and plotting for a time when he can take revenge. That moment has arrived. All his enemies are aboard a ship sailing near the island and it is the perfect time for Prospero's plan.
Creating a magical storm with his sprite Ariel, Prospero causes a shipwreck, landing the king and his lords, ladies, butler and jester all over the island. Slowly Prospero weaves his magic to fulfil his plan, with Ariel carrying out many of his tasks, before eventually forgiving all those who did him wrong.
Filmed at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, in front of a live invited audience, CBeebies The Tempest is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for families and preschoolers, with the most famous moments from Shakespeare's original text surrounded by magic, music and mischief.audio_videoPID:b09xjby9Thu, 18 Oct 2018 10:47:58 GMTCelebrity Antiques Road Trip / Series 7: Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09g7ztb
Celebrity likely lads from Liverpool, pals Ricky Tomlinson and Micky Starke, are joined by Catherine Southon and Margie Cooper on a road trip adventure. Kicking off from Knutsford, Cheshire, they head for auction in Southport via a visit to Liverpool. Ricky turns out to be an impulse buyer while Micky adopts a more relaxed approach. Gamble buys include antiques from Japan and China, but what will sell closer to home?
Micky also learns why topless men from a small Cheshire town made global impact with their sweaty and salty occupation, while dog lover Ricky discovers the incredible history of guide dog training in the UK.audio_videoPID:b09g7ztbThu, 08 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTCharlie and Lola / Series 3: 19. What Can I Wear for Halloween?http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00b9lld
Children's mixed-media animation. Charlie loves his little sister Lola, even if she gets carried away by her imagination sometimes! Charlie, Lola, Lotta and Marv have been growing a pumpkin all year for the Halloween party. Lola can't decide what to wear, and the boy from downstairs shatters the pumpkin: the party is ruined!audio_videoPID:b00b9lldFri, 26 Oct 2018 17:10:00 GMTCivilisations / Series 1: 9. The Vital Sparkhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05xyhjq
Simon Schama begins Civilisations with this premise: that it is in art - the play of the creative imagination - that humanity expresses its most essential self: the power to break the tyranny of the humdrum, the grind of everyday. Art makes life worth living and is the great window into human potential. And societies become civilised to the extent that they take culture as seriously as the prosecution of power or the accumulation of wealth. But in the century of total war and industrial slaughter, was (and is) that enough?
The cause of humanity went up in the smoke of the Nazi crematoria. Horror and terror brushed beauty aside and stamped on its pretensions. In the modern world, art has become increasingly commodified. Simon's last programme explores the fate of art in the machine- and profit-driven world. It looks at the rise of art as a tradeable commodity and turns on one central question. Should art create a realm separate from the modern world, a place where we can escape and pull the ladder up after us? Or should it plunge headlong into the chaos and cacophony while transforming the way we see it and live in it?
Using the works of both dead and contemporary artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, Simon seeks answers to these profound questions. His conclusion is imbued with hope: despite all the travails of the present, by engaging with the here-and-now, art still offers civilisation an insight into the incomprehensibility of the world and a way to transcend its horrors with the enduring creativity of the human spirit.audio_videoPID:p05xyhjqWed, 20 Jun 2018 11:25:50 GMTClangers / Series 2: 25. The Forgotten Tunnelhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b4znm5
Granny, Tiny and Small find a forgotten tunnel leading somewhere unexpected.audio_videoPID:b0b4znm5Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:10:00 GMTClassic Mary Berry / Series 1: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09w3ynk
Mary embraces the British countryside with fresh and honest bucolic cooking inspired by what is grown on farms and in gardens, from a joyous pasta inspired by a classic French herb sauce to a perfect way to partner asparagus and how to serve up the most scrumptious roasted vegetables. Mary makes her way through vegetable rows and orchards, ending with her own inspired version of tarte tatin.
To further explore the green fields she takes a step back in time to journey on one of the Watercress Line's 19th-century steam trains, where she leaves the stove to help fire up the 300-tonne engine.audio_videoPID:b09w3ynkSat, 17 Nov 2018 12:00:00 GMTThe Cry / Series 1: Episode 4http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpwm2p
The couple return to Scotland under constant media pressure.audio_videoPID:b0bpwm2pSun, 21 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTCuckoo / Series 4: 6. Opening Nighthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06f5p99
It is the big opening night for All Steve's Pals, with Dale determined to make it the best launch ever and show Rachel he is the kind of serious safe bet she can spend her future with. Rachel's work have thrown up a different future for her, though, and she is forced to choose between Dale or a dream job in Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, Ken, now fired from work, is a man on a mission with one last roll of the dice to get his job back.audio_videoPID:p06f5p99Thu, 02 Aug 2018 08:10:00 GMTDanger Mouse / Series 2: 37. Rodent Recallhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bmkh01
Danger Mouse and Penfold are in a training simulation when one of DM's flying kicks damages the holodeck with catastrophic consequences. They wake to find they have been in a three-year dream, that they aren't secret agents and work in IT instead, and the Danger Agency has been a figment of their imaginations! Whilst Penfold and Squawk quickly settle into a life of menial office work, DM struggles to accept life as Dane G Mouse.audio_videoPID:b0bmkh01Sat, 17 Nov 2018 07:35:00 GMTDarcey Bussell: Looking for Margothttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0868lnk
Margot Fonteyn has inspired generations of ballerinas. She was beautiful, brilliant, talented and never put a foot wrong on stage. Her late flowering partnering with a much younger man, Rudolf Nureyev, created the most dazzling ballet partnership in history.
And yet behind the scenes, as Darcey Bussell discovers, Margot's life was marked by tragedy and disappointment. She barely knew her father and was dominated by her well-meaning, yet fiercely ambitious, mother. She couldn't find love and never had children. And when she finally did marry, to a man she loved from afar for many years, he turned out to be very different from what she expected: a hero to his people, but not always to his wife.
Darcey goes behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet, and travels from London to New York and Panama looking for Margot. She finds how Margot lost out in love, got drawn into a failed foreign revolution, danced on for far too long and died alone and in poverty, miles from home. Along the way, Darcey speaks to many people who have not spoken out before about Margot. In the end, Darcey learns that by following her heart, Margot did find a kind of happiness, even though it came at a very high price.audio_videoPID:b0868lnkMon, 12 Nov 2018 01:00:00 GMTDavid Brent: Life on the Roadhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bshk0r
Several years after David Brent was last seen in the BBC documentary series The Office, the cameras catch up with him as he prepares a sabbatical from his sales job at Lavichem to embark on a regional tour with his pop group Foregone Conclusion.audio_videoPID:b0bshk0rSat, 17 Nov 2018 23:55:00 GMTThe Deer Stalkerhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bhkbv7
For 40 years, Alex Macdonald has stalked the hills and glens above Fort William, as did his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him. Now he wants to hand his expertise onto a fifth generation - his 15-year-old son.
In this intimate portrait of a unique way of life, we follow Alex through the ferocity of one of Scotland's worst winters to the high heat of summer, as he manages the 3,000 red deer that populate the Achnacarry estate.audio_videoPID:b0bhkbv7Mon, 19 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTDictatorland / Series 1: 3. Tajikistanhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04xl909
In this episode, Ben Zand travels to Tajikistan to experience the sinister and at times bizarre side to living in a dictatorship.
But before he gets there, Ben has some preparation to do: in the airplane toilet, he shaves his beard off. This is a country in which people have been dragged off the streets for sporting overly long facial hair.
Landing in the capital city Dushanbe, Ben heads to see one of Tajikistan's biggest claims to fame: the second tallest flagpole in the world. Of course it was built as the tallest, but has now been pipped to the top spot by Saudi Arabia, another dictatorship. Other authoritarian regimes dominate the Big Five when it comes to flagpoles - countries like North Korea, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Could it be, wonders Ben, that while rich middle-aged men get a fast car as a midlife crisis-inspired penis enlargement, dictators go for giant flagpoles instead?
Still wowed by the size of the pole, Ben goes to meet a man called Rustam, who was forcibly shaved by the police a couple of years ago. He finds out that the president of Tajikistan is worried about beards because he's terrified of Islamic radicalism. To find out more about how the government is keeping control of radical Islam, Ben heads to meet Aslideen, a youth activist who set up a movement that does the government's dirty work for it - keeping an eye on people out on the streets, reporting any suspicious behaviour to the police and generally terrorising the locals. Tajikistan is starting to feel like a police state in which independent thought is quickly stifled.
On a mission to find some signs of dissent, Ben goes to meet a prominent young hip-hop artist. Around the world, hip-hop is a way for the youth to express their frustration; surely the rapper Baron will tell Ben what's wrong with this country? Instead, Ben finds Baron rapping about how great the president is, and he tells Ben that it would be stupid for him to rap about anything critical of the regime.
It seems the population is so well trained that the government barely even needs to censor people. Though of course if it has to, it will, and it's more than happy to shut down any social media sites that become a problem. When a video of the president dancing embarrassingly at his son's wedding ended up doing the rounds online, the president did what any self-respecting dictator would do - he shut down YouTube in the country.
As Ben is shown a beautiful but simple mountain village, surrounded by snow-capped peaks in the middle of nowhere, the secret police suddenly turn up. The country may be poor, but there's always money for flagpoles and the surveillance of dissent.audio_videoPID:p04xl909Fri, 14 Sep 2018 08:00:00 GMTDIY SOS / Series 29: 1. The Big Build - Arundelhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09l50fl
Amanda, mother of four and wife to local builder Vic, was training on her bicycle for an iron man when her brakes failed on Bury Hill, West Sussex. Travelling at 40 mph, she lost control and smashed into a signpost which catapulted her into bushes. The enormous impact meant Amanda broke 11 bones, punctured a lung and snapped her collarbone and her back. In vast pain, Amanda lay there motionless and described the sensation 'like my spinal fluid was leaking from my body'. It was two hours before Amanda was found by another cyclist. On arrival at A&E, she was told that she had been left paralysed. That evening, a national newspaper featured her selfie from the hospital with a beaming smile advising friends: 'I don't want to make anyone sad or upset but I'm not going to walk again', and she was determined to continue to compete as a para-athlete.
With husband Vic now tending to the four children, Amanda spent the next six months at Stoke Mandeville spinal unit. Even during her darkest days at the unit, she would help to feed other patients to keep busy and to remind herself that - in her mind - it could have been worse for her. After two gruelling 12-hour back operations, she returned home in a wheelchair. Her home was now unsuitable, so that is where the DIY SOS volunteers come to the family's rescue.audio_videoPID:b09l50flThu, 08 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTDoctors / Series 20: 11. Running Repairshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsbqvj
Emma helps a mechanic who is facing a family breakdown. Daniel gets a shock when he visits Mrs Tembe. Karen struggles in her new role at the Mill, and Sid faces Zara's wrath when he does a favour for Ayesha and Valerie.audio_videoPID:b0bsbqvjMon, 19 Nov 2018 14:15:00 GMTDoctor Who / Series 11: 7. Kerblam!http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsrh4l
A mysterious message arrives in a package addressed to the Doctor, leading her, Graham, Yaz and Ryan to investigate the warehouse moon orbiting Kandoka, and the home of the galaxy's largest retailer, Kerblam.audio_videoPID:b0bsrh4lSun, 18 Nov 2018 19:20:00 GMTDoing Moneyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06mxryq
A young Romanian woman is snatched in broad daylight from a London street, trafficked to Ireland and used as a sex slave in a series of pop-up brothels. Her shocking true story offers a tense and thought-provoking thriller exposing how, in modern Britain, slavery can hide in plain sight.audio_videoPID:p06mxryqMon, 05 Nov 2018 22:30:00 GMTDown the Mighty River with Steve Backshall / Series 1: Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08k8t56
Adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall sets out to explore one of the wildest rivers in the world, the mighty Baliem River in the island of New Guinea, just north of Australia. He is on a mission to discover the ancient tribes that live along its banks, explore unknown caves and meet the dangerous animals lurking in the river and surrounding jungle. But the only way to discover these hidden worlds is to travel the river from source to sea - a feat that has never been achieved before.
In this second episode, Steve and his crew kayak Baliem's lower gorge, one of the most extreme stretches of white water on the planet. With jagged rock walls looming overhead and crashing currents bearing down on the kayaks, the risk of capsizing is constant. Battling wild weather and dense jungle, Steve's explorations of the surrounding valley prove equally as challenging. Steve encounters large spiders, fierce wasp nests and a local tribe who have little contact with the outside world.
Finally entering the tidal reaches of the Baliem River, Steve has to reconcile his passionate belief in conservation with a local tribe's determination to hunt crocodiles in the region.audio_videoPID:b08k8t56Tue, 23 Oct 2018 15:45:00 GMTDragons' Den / Series 16: Episode 8http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs6df8
Dragons' Den is back as Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Jenny Campbell and Tej Lalvani lie in wait for the next brave entrepreneurs who are willing to enter the Den.
A Polish former footballer hopes the Dragons will rise to the occasion as he strives for investment in his unique flour-free bread, and an enterprising hairstylist attempts to avoid knotty problems as the investors scrutinise her hair extension storage system. And, finally, a trip across the Atlantic might be a route to investment - or a wild Dragon chase - for a pair of US-based entrepreneurs who hope to clean up online.audio_videoPID:b0bs6df8Sun, 11 Nov 2018 21:30:00 GMTTunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein / Series 1: 1. Revolutionhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b097f2gv
In the first episode of this fascinating and entertaining series exploring the politics of music, Suzy Klein takes us back to the volatile years following the Russian Revolution and World War I, when music was seen as a tool to change society.
Suzy explores the gender-bending cabarets of 1920s Berlin, smashes a piano in the spirit of the Bolshevik revolution, and discovers that playing a theremin is harder than it looks. She also reveals why one orchestra decided to work without a conductor, uncovers the dark politics behind Mack the Knife and probes the satirical songs which tried to puncture the rise of the Nazis. Finally, she tells the story of the infamous Horst Wessel song, which helped bring Hitler to power.
Suzy's musical stories are richly brought to life with the help of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and its Chorus, as well as wonderful solo performers. This was a golden age for music, and its jazz, popular songs, experimental symphonies and classics like Rachmaninoff all provoke debate - what kind of culture do we want? Is music for the elite or for the people? Was this a new age of liberal freedom to be relished - or were we hurtling towards the apocalypse?
With music's incredible power to bypass our brains and get straight to our hearts, it can at once invoke the very best in us and, Suzy argues, inflame the very worst. Music lovers beware!audio_videoPID:b097f2gvFri, 16 Nov 2018 01:35:00 GMTTwirlywoos / Series 4: 25. More About Behindhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09hvwqs
The Twirlywoos are at a theatre, watching as the actors play their parts. The scene changes and new props are moved on to the stage. The Twirlywoos help by moving some extra props on to the stage, but are they the right props? What is happening behind the actor?
Back on the Big Red Boat, the Octopus pays a visit. Peekaboo is sure there is something behind him.audio_videoPID:b09hvwqsTue, 23 Oct 2018 08:45:00 GMTUgly Me: My Life with Body Dysmorphiahttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p067bnvw
Documentary exploring body dysmorphic disorder, a condition which causes people to believe they are extremely ugly. The film follows 29-year-old Liane and her boyfriend Mitch over a year as Liane starts therapy to try and conquer this crippling condition. Each week Liane meets Professor David Veale, one of the world's leading experts on BDD, who attempts to undo some of her deeply entrenched habits, often leading to uncomfortable and revealing realisations.
The documentary also hears from a range of people who are in recovery from BDD. Talking movingly about their own personal experiences helps illuminate Liane's journey and reveals more about this illness.audio_videoPID:p067bnvwWed, 06 Jun 2018 08:00:00 GMTUpstart Crow / Series 3: 6. Go On and I Will Followhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bmgftc
The day of Will's son Hamnet's confirmation is approaching and Anne has made sure it has been in Will's diary for months. The only problem is this also turns out to be the night of the first ever London Theatre Awards, and what with Will being the greatest writer of all time, and what with all the other theatre companies in London being closed all year because of the plague, Will reckons he may be in with a chance of a prize.
And there is another dilemma - if Will does go the London Theatre Awards who is going to be his plus one? He has heard that his favourite dark lady, Emilia Laier, may be free that evening. But as Will wrestles with the temptation of the London theatre there is a far bigger threat to his family's happiness lurking in the wings.audio_videoPID:b0bmgftcWed, 03 Oct 2018 20:00:00 GMTUtopia: In Search of the Dream / Series 1: 2. Build It And They Will Comehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b091gx74
Utopia has been imagined in a thousand different ways. Yet when people try to build utopia, they struggle and very often fail. Art historian professor Richard Clay asks whether utopian visions for living can ever reconcile the tension between the group and the individual, the rules and the desire to break free.
Travelling to America, he encounters experimental communities, searching for greater meaning in life. Richard visits a former Shaker village in New Hampshire and immerses himself for a day at the Twin Oaks eco-commune in Virginia, where residents share everything, even clothes. He looks back at the grand urban plans for the masses of the 20th-century utopian ideologies, from the New Deal housing projects of downtown Chicago to the concrete sprawl of a Soviet-era housing estate in Vilnius, Lithuania. He also meets utopian architects with a continuing faith that humanity's lot can be improved by better design. Interviewees include architect Norman Foster and designer Shoji Sadao.audio_videoPID:b091gx74Tue, 13 Nov 2018 02:00:00 GMTWallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousershttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08nfjwt
Oscar-winning animated adventure featuring Wallace and Gromit. The duo are plunged into a hilarious tale of skulduggery involving an extraordinary pair of automated trousers and a villainous penguin. Featuring Peter Sallis as the voice of Wallace.audio_videoPID:b08nfjwtFri, 02 Nov 2018 13:15:00 GMTWanderlust / Series 1: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06kk9l1
Joy and Alan face up to the seismic changes in their lives and try to decide if the choices they have made are the right ones. After a tense encounter with Claire, a lost and lonely Joy takes a risk on love and goes on a bold journey. Tom's new relationship progresses in a surprising way, and Laura figures out exactly what, and who, she wants for herself. And Joy makes one final decision about the future.audio_videoPID:p06kk9l1Tue, 09 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTWartime Farm / Episode 8http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nmdss
The team face the conditions of 1945 and prepare to tackle the most crucial event of their farming year: harvesting the wheat crop. They grapple with weeds, one of the wettest summers in memory and wartime machinery to bring the crop home, but take a giant leap into the modern era with the arrival of a 1940s combined harvester.
As ever, on the wartime farm the goalposts are constantly moving. The team discover that as the conflict drew to a close, the need for home-grown food became greater than ever. Exploring countryside memories of VE Day, they discover how pressure on farmers increased throughout the final dramatic year of conflict.
Victory in Europe meant that Britain had to share the responsibility for feeding populations across the war-torn continent whose food supplies had been devastated. On top of that, as soon as the war ended, American aid stopped. The financial cost of war left Britain bankrupt and struggling to afford imports, leading to a burden on farmers that remained long after the war finished. Rationing lasted well into the 1950s.
As a fitting send-off, the team celebrate the harvest with a 'Holiday at Home' - inspired by a government scheme to encourage exhausted workers to make the most of time off without travelling anywhere. Alex has a surprise up his sleeve to make the party go with a bang, as the team prepare to leave the Wartime Farm.audio_videoPID:b01nmdssMon, 22 Oct 2018 14:45:00 GMTWe Will Remember Them with Huw Edwardshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqr5jf
To mark the centenary of the end of World War One, Huw Edwards embarks on an emotional and explorative journey of remembrance. Travelling from Wales to the western front, Huw reveals the untold story behind the unique way in which Britain and the empire honour their fallen soldiers, who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom. The British government refused calls to return its war dead for burial, unlike France and America. This policy meant hundreds of thousands of families were effectively prevented from visiting the graves of their loved ones. A mothers' movement emerged fighting the ruling. But when it failed, bereaved families were left to come to terms with their grief in other ways. This is the story of the ritual of remembrance that occurs each year. The story of war memorials and commemorative events, and it's a story that still resonates so deeply, a hundred years on.audio_videoPID:b0bqr5jfSun, 04 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTWhat Do Artists Do All Day? / 27. Peter Jacksonhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brzngq
To mark the centenary of WWI, Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has produced an acclaimed documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old. Using the latest cutting edge production techniques to restore and colourise original footage from the Imperial War Museum, alongside interviews with servicemen, the film brings to life the soldiers' experiences in unprecedented detail. To accompany the film's BBC broadcast, this special episode of What Do Artists Do All Day follows Jackson at work on the documentary, discussing his motivations for making the film and revealing his own deep personal connection to the war, through his British grandfather who fought at the Somme.audio_videoPID:b0brzngqMon, 12 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTWhere in the World? / Series 1: 20. Truc, Hamza and Rhys: Rhys Has a Snowball Fighthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08wrzh9
Stories about the everyday lives of children living in eight different countries around the world.
In this programme we visit three children who are all having fun with their families.
In Vietnam, Truc, who is seven, spends the day in the country with her cousins and sets up a sunflower seed shop.
In Jordan, eight-year-old Hamza learns some new skills in his tae kwon do class and tries them out on his sister, Rama.
And in Canada, Rhys, who is also eight, has a snowball fight with his grandad.
We see that, although children live in different countries, may look different and speak different languages, the joys and challenges of childhood are universal.audio_videoPID:b08wrzh9Sun, 28 Oct 2018 13:20:00 GMTWithout Limits: Australia / Series 1: Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpzcfq
It has been an emotional journey so far - the team of Australian and British wounded veterans have bonded during their long days driving through the Kimberley region of north west Australia. They have pushed themselves physically and mentally on a two-day trek through a remote river gorge.
Now, as they're getting to know each other better, driving by day and bush-camping by night, they share the difficult and intimate stories of the struggles they've faced recovering from injury, and the continuing challenges of adapting to life after the military.
Back on the old trading route of the Gibb River Road, they head east towards the spectacular and sacred Bungle Bungle Range of Purnululu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Former aircraft technician Keanie Trick, 23, from Devon, is on the brink of medical discharge. As the second week of the expedition starts, she's still struggling with her physical strength, but it becomes clear that her mental health is also fragile - in an intimate campfire scene, she admits to not feeling proud of herself, and compares her training injuries to those of the other veterans who were injured on the front line. Like so many veterans who are medically discharged, she's also starting to come to terms with the reality of a future on civvy street, very different to the hopes and ambitions she had for a full career in the military.
British veteran Shaun Stocker, who lost both his legs and was near-blinded by an IED just six days before the end of his tour in Afghanistan, excelled on the first trek, proving he's capable of extreme physical effort. As he starts to open up, he reveals his strong desire for independence and how he pushed away help from his family during his long recovery. He admits that his sense of freedom was threatened far more by the loss of his sight than that of his legs. Losing his driving licence was the biggest blow. But just as he starts to get frustrated with being a passenger in the team car, expedition leader Martin reveals a surprise.
And in the final trek, during a punishing two-day hike in the sandy and rocky terrain of Purnululu National Park, Shaun's effort is extraordinary as he welcomes help and guidance from his teammates.
Australian veterans Dean West and Matt Tolson are both recovering from severe PTSD and depression. The journey is revealing the different stages of their personal battles with mental health. In 1993, Dean was involved in a serious vehicle accident on a training mission in Malaysia, which killed five of his fellow soldiers, including his best friend. In an emotional scene, he reveals the impact his PTSD has had on his children and the guilt he still feels. But he's passionate about the importance of talking openly about mental health, and as he helps Keanie deal with the mental strain of her injury, he reveals how helping others has helped his own recovery.
Matt's PTSD is still acute, and the severe pain in his knees and back is taking its toll on his mental health. Once a fit mountain climber, Matt has struggled with his fitness since his injury and the psychological issues that go with a lack of purpose since being discharged from the army. His
post-traumatic stress is from being exposed to traumatic events whilst peacekeeping in Timor Leste.
For the final challenge of their 1000-mile expedition they are dropped off by helicopter for a two-day trek into the stunning and dramatic landscape of the Purnululu National Park. For some, the expedition has been a chance to prove that they're well on the way to recovery; for others, there's still a long way to go, but they can only gain confidence from their incredible effort in the Australian outback.
The series concludes two months later, when the team members are reunited in Sydney for the start of the 2018 Invictus Games. They meet up with HRH the Duke of Sussex, patron of the Invictus Games, and the Duchess of Sussex, to tell them how they coped with the challenges of their expedition.audio_videoPID:b0bpzcfqWed, 24 Oct 2018 20:00:00 GMTWolfblood / Series 3: 13. Moonrisehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04ncz9g
Fantasy drama following teenagers and their secret lives as wolfbloods. Our wolfbloods face their toughest challenge yet when confronted with Kincaid's plan to eradicate their species.audio_videoPID:b04ncz9gFri, 02 Nov 2018 12:45:00 GMTWoolly and Tig / Halloweenhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03gph14
In this special episode, Tig discovers what Halloween is at her first Halloween party. Tig decides to dress up as a bobble bug monster for the party but Tig's friend Angel arrives as a bobble bug monster too. Tig is not pleased. Woolly helps Tig appreciate that Angel copying her is a big compliment.
Tig enjoys the rest of the party with Mr. Jack O' Lantern organising games and trick or treat. After an exciting evening and when all the witches, ghosts and monsters have returned home, Woolly persuades Tig that even monsters have to go to bed.audio_videoPID:b03gph14Wed, 31 Oct 2018 11:30:00 GMTWorld's End / 34. Hopehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05vrlj2
The teens persuade the adults to test a theory they've come up with. Noah is elsewhere - is that Gaia with him? Cat and Luke follow them, and it looks like Noah has switched his allegiance.audio_videoPID:b05vrlj2Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:25:00 GMTThe Worst Witch / Series 2: 12. All Hallow's Evehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09xysd7
The girls frantically try to reignite the Founding Stone, and Ethel and Mildred are surprised by their family history. Meanwhile, Halloween celebrations are masking the magical mayhem of a broken Founding Stone.audio_videoPID:b09xysd7Sat, 27 Oct 2018 14:05:00 GMTWWI's Secret Shame: Shell Shockhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brzl3w
Dan Snow investigates a century of war trauma from WW1 shell shock to modern PTSD.
Historian Dan Snow breaks the silence around the devastating impact of war on the mental health of our soldiers. For 100 years, men and women who risked their lives for their country have continued to suffer on their return. In this film for BBC Two, Dan explores the challenge presented by an ongoing mental health crisis among war veterans. Dan discovers how the shell shock of WW1 has evolved into the cases of PTSD that modern soldiers suffer with today. Shockingly, lessons learnt from previous conflicts were soon forgotten. Battle trauma leads to alcoholism, broken families, violence and suicide on a shocking scale in the UK. He asks military psychiatrists and experts why we're still struggling to help the psychiatric casualties of war.
Dan shares frank and moving conversations with veterans of World War Two, the Falklands and Afghanistan, and also with relatives of those who fought in World War One. Jimmy Smith was traumatised after fighting in many of the major battles of the Great War. He was sentenced to death by court martial at only 26 years old for misbehaviour and desertion. A few decades later, Victor Gregg's marriage collapsed after witnessing the horrific violence of WWII bombing raids as a prisoner of war in Dresden. With each subsequent war, the symptoms changed, but the story remained the same. Ex-paratrooper Dave Brown has struggled with adjusting to civilian life since his service in the Falklands. Sean Jones survived an IED attack in Afghanistan in 2008. He was sent back for a second tour, without realising that he had been diagnosed with suspected PTSD.
Dan has many close family ties to the military campaigns of the First World War. Delving into previously unseen archives he reveals the difficult history of how Britain has reacted to the psychological consequences of warfare.audio_videoPID:b0brzl3wMon, 12 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTWWI: The Final Hourshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0br9xzq
On 8 November 1918, an Englishman, a Frenchman and a German gathered in secret, on a train carriage in a forest near Paris. Their meeting would last for three days. Its aim: bring peace to Europe, and an end to four long years of brutal and deadly war.
One hundred years after the end of the First World War, this documentary uncovers the extraordinary events leading up to the Armistice negotiations, and the repercussions that would ripple across the continent, and throughout the 20th century - sometimes with catastrophic consequences.
Now, leading historians have examined the meeting from the perspectives of the three key players on the train, as well as the people who sent them there. Each had the weight of their nation on their shoulders. Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss joined the Navy at just 13, and grew up to be the commander of the most powerful navy on earth. Britain had ruled the waves for over 100 years, and Wemyss has been sent to the meeting with one objective - keep it that way. He had to make sure that the negotiations not only gave Britain the upper hand at sea, but ensured that Germany never threaten Britain's naval dominance again - whatever the cost. Marshall Ferdinand Foch was in charge of the war on land. He had seen his beloved France decimated by a war of attrition which had cost millions of lives, on a front line which never moved more than a few miles. He was single-minded and unapologetic in his aim: dismantle Germany and prevent them from ever invading France again. German Matthias Erzberger was, unlike his French and British counterparts, not a military man, but a politician. Sent to negotiate for a nation on its knees, he had little room for manoeuvre, but still faced harsher terms than he had ever expected. While fighting his corner in the train carriage, events in Germany were unfolding faster than he could possibly imagine.
This programme follows the meeting and its consequences - not only for the individuals on the train, but the countries they represented. This is the story of the end of one World War, and the beginning of another.audio_videoPID:b0br9xzqThu, 08 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTYellowstone: Wildest Winter to Blazing Summer / 1. The Wildest Winterhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087vhpv
Patrick follows the grizzly bears that are taking a risk with the weather by leaving their winter dens early. Hungry wolves are struggling to bring down their elk prey in the unusually shallow snow. And for great grey owls, it is the iciness of the snow that is hampering their hunts.
Yellowstone's winter is always one of the most brutal on the planet. But 2016 saw weather records broken, and the wildlife was forced to adapt to survive. Kate Humble gets to grips with the science behind this remarkable season, from understanding the importance of the snowpack's structure as the melt begins to uncovering why Yellowstone's unique geology poses problems for some grazer's teeth.audio_videoPID:b087vhpvMon, 19 Nov 2018 16:45:00 GMTYorkshire Wolds Way / Episode 1http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088nwg0
Adventurer Paul Rose explores the 79 miles of the Yorkshire Wolds Way, arguably Britain's least well-known national walking trail. The trail starts at the Humber Estuary and ends at the Yorkshire seaside resort of Filey. On the way, Paul takes in the views of the Yorkshire Wolds from the top of the Humber Bridge, learns to ride a penny farthing and searches out the spots made internationally famous by the artist David Hockney.audio_videoPID:b088nwg0Mon, 12 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTSound of Song / 3. Mix It Up and Start Againhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050rbz8
Composer and musician Neil Brand's series exploring the alchemy that creates great songs reaches the modern era, when a revolution in how they were made took place. From the synthesisers of symphonic rock to the mixes of disco and the samplings of hip hop, music was transformed by the arrival of digital technology and the computer, which gave some songwriters more power but others much less. Along the way Neil talks synths with Rick Wakeman from Yes, samples with Public Enemy's Hank Shocklee, uncovers the surprising lo-fi origins of Bruce Springsteen's stadium-busting Born in the USA, and finds out how Cher changed the sound of her voice on the smash hit Believe.audio_videoPID:b050rbz8Sat, 03 Nov 2018 02:30:00 GMTStacey Dooley / The Young and Homelesshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brzfr5
Last year in the UK 103,000 young people presented themselves as homeless, but the real number is much higher as thousands of teenagers go under the radar by sofa surfing or staying with friends.
Filmed over nine months, this film gives a voice to some of society's most vulnerable young people, sensitively sharing their thoughts and concerns and shining a light on their struggle to find a safe place to sleep and their journey in securing a stable and permanent home.
We follow Josh, 18, in Blackpool as he tries to hold down a job while bouncing between night shelters, sofa surfing and sleeping rough. As he's 18 and is deemed as having no local connection, his only option is to save enough money and find a place in private rented accommodation.
Care leaver Shelby, 18, slipped through the net when she turned 18 and ended up on the streets. She has her heart set on finding her own flat as she wants to avoid the hostel circuit and getting in with the wrong crowd. She talks about the danger of being a girl on the streets and the importance of having friends to look out for you.
Shelby's friend Caitlin, 19, has spent the past year sofa surfing and staying in squats. In her lowest point she sleeps in a tent given by a charity with her boyfriend under some railway arches. We follow her journey as she realises being independent is not all it's cracked up to be and that she is craving help and stability. We see her move into an all-girls hostel and reflect on the past few months.
Shy Millie, 17, left her family home at 14. With ambitions to become a doctor Millie feels hostel life isn't for her, so with the support of Children in Need-funded project The Junction, Millie moves in with a local host family and finds the stability she needs to focus on getting to university.audio_videoPID:b0brzfr5Tue, 13 Nov 2018 23:45:00 GMTStacey Dooley Investigates / Sex in Strange Places: 1. Turkeyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03kszyy
Stacey begins her journey in troubled Turkey. As the European gateway to the Middle East, it is a secular nation laced with conservative and religious attitudes to sex.
Though the subject of sex is largely taboo here, on paper Turkey is the most liberal of the countries Stacey visits. Prostitution is legal, and there are even state-run brothels. Stacey meets sex workers who regard themselves as tutors to the uninitiated men of a sexually repressed society, preparing them for marriage. But even here Stacey discovers an overwhelming sense of terror pervades as she meets women who fear for their lives just for being seen talking to her.
In a world where state-registered prostitutes have 'sex worker' marked on their ID cards and will never be allowed to join the army, police or civil service, Stacey meets a brothel madame and discovers that for many girls there's no way out.
For transsexuals the situation is worse. While Turkey is home to the biggest gay pride march in the Muslim world, according to the campaign group Transgender Europe, there are six transgender people killed in Turkey every year. Rejected by their families, and with employers refusing to hire them, many are forced to live in an underworld of illegal brothels, exploited by armed gangs and corrupt police officers.
The war raging in neighbouring Syria has added an even darker, highly exploitative layer to this already stigma-rich business. Istanbul now has more Syrian refugees than the EU. War and sex slavery go hand in hand, with many young Syrian girls and mothers forced to sell their bodies to make ends meet. Stacey braves the journey from Istanbul to Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border, where several hundred Islamic State fighters are believed to live in hiding. Here she meets a young woman who was sold into sex slavery by IS fighters. Covered from head to toe in black, she desperately wants to share her story but is so traumatised that she cannot stop crying.audio_videoPID:p03kszyyThu, 06 Sep 2018 08:00:00 GMTSteve Backshall's Extreme Mountain Challenge / Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b074c5jk
Adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall embarks on one of the most dramatic and dangerous expeditions ever filmed by a BBC crew. His mission: to explore Venezuela's tepuis - ancient, sheer-sided mountains, lost worlds cut off from the jungle below.
The second episode picks up where episode one left off with Steve and the climbing team halfway up the unclimbed, sheer-sided face of a remote tepui, about to make one last desperate attempt to reach the summit. It is then on to a new tepui and the second stage of the expedition.
Joining up with a team of elite Italian cavers, Steve ventures deep within a tepui - inside a newly discovered cave. Within this dark underworld, the team encounter strange creatures, ancient mysteries and the raw geological forces that give the tepuis their unique shape. But nothing can prepare them for an attempt to forge a path into unexplored areas of the cave - a dangerous mission of intense claustrophobia and nerve-shredding tension. And then to end the adventure, Steve reunites with the climbing team for a spectacular finale: an epic abseil alongside the Angel Falls - the highest waterfall on earth.audio_videoPID:b074c5jkThu, 25 Oct 2018 15:45:00 GMTStill Open All Hours / Series 5: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs43dt
It's a day full of bad surprises for Granville when the till becomes unwell, Leroy buys an ice cream van and the Black Widow finds him overheating in a tight spot. Eric and Cyril decide it's time to show some macho spirit and get back in the saddle - after all, this is the home of the Tour de Yorkshire!
Meanwhile, in the library, Leroy tells Beth about his sneaky plan to find a blind date for Ruby. Mr Newbold is sent on a mission by Mrs Featherstone to find out more about Mrs Rossi and whether she poses a threat to the local shop, but has he discovered more than he bargained for?audio_videoPID:b0bs43dtMon, 12 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTStrange Hill High / Series 2: 12. The Snide Piperhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04b6d9f
With the annual Strange Hill spring festival approaching, Mitchell drives the music teacher mad, and the kids get a mysterious new teacher who may have a much deeper connection to the ancient festival than they realise.audio_videoPID:b04b6d9fFri, 09 Nov 2018 15:50:00 GMTSurgeons: At the Edge of Life / Series 1: 2. Last Chance Saloonhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09p30yj
The second episode follows some of the country's most daring and skilled surgeons as they perform fiendishly complicated life-saving surgery. Going beyond the theatre doors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, this episode features two procedures so formidable that they would not have been attempted even a few years ago. Surgical teams at the Queen Elizabeth are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible. But despite state-of-the-art diagnostic scanning, sometimes cancer surgeons don't know exactly what they are up against until they open the patient up on the operating table. Even with the most meticulous planning, sometimes they must resort to taking critical decisions live in the theatre.
74-year-old Jasmine Harkness has been referred to the specialist sarcoma unit with a vast tumour in her abdomen, weighing more than three stone - a third of her total body weight. It is consuming her, displacing organs including her stomach and liver. Unless it can be removed, she has just four weeks to live. Sarcoma specialists Sam Ford and Professor David Gourevitch can't be sure whether they will be able to save Jasmine until they open her up and inspect her anatomy. Such is the risk of this surgery - five years ago they would not have embarked on this intervention.
Sue Sinclair, lead anaesthetist and matriarch of theatre, keeps the others in check - working alongside them as they battle to detach the tumour from Jasmine's organs and blood vessels, and remove it intact. Whenever it presses heavily on vital blood vessels, Jasmine's blood pressure plummets, placing her life in grave danger. It will take unwavering focus to keep her alive. The tumour has grown so invasively that it has crushed and displaced Jasmine's internal organs. Sam and David have a puzzle on their hands to identify what and where everything is. At times, dark humour is the only way to release the tension as they grapple with blood, guts and mind-boggling complexity.audio_videoPID:b09p30yjFri, 16 Nov 2018 00:25:00 GMTSwim the Channelhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ll8s6
In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb - with little more than some brandy, beer and beef tea to keep him going - became the first man to successfully swim from England to France. Since then more people have conquered Everest than successfully swum across the Channel. To this day, it remains the ultimate open water swimming challenge.
This documentary tells the story of those who keep Captain Webb's vision alive - the volunteer coaches and the unlikeliest of athletes who they tirelessly support in their dream to swim from England to France. The rules are simple - no physical aids, no wimp/wet suits, just a swimsuit, goggles, the all-important swimming cap and a spot of grease to stop the chafing.
At the heart of the community are pensioners Freda, Irene and Barry. They can be found in Dover every weekend from May to September come rain or shine, ready to train, feed and grease the wannabe Channel swimmers. The swimmers do not take on this arduous journey alone, and also rely on the skill of the pilots who navigate them safely to the other side of the busiest shipping lane in the world.
The community share their highs and lows both in and out of the water as they train together on this small stretch of pebbled beach shadowed by the ferry port. Feasting on jelly babies, and fuelled by adrenalin and dreams, the modern-day swimmer continues to risk it all in this, the ultimate challenge of man versus nature.audio_videoPID:b07ll8s6Tue, 30 Oct 2018 02:25:00 GMTTales from the Royal Wardrobe with Lucy Worsleyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048wss8
Today, few people's clothes attract as much attention as the royal family, but this is not a modern-day Hello magazine-inspired obsession. As Dr Lucy Worsley reveals, it has always been this way. Exploring the royal wardrobes of our kings and queens over the last 400 years, Lucy shows this isn't just a public preoccupation but our monarchs' as well.
From Elizabeth I to our present Queen, Lucy believes that the royal wardrobe's significance goes way beyond the cut and colour of the clothing and that royal fashion is, and has always been, regarded as their personal statement to their people. So most monarchs have carefully choreographed every aspect of their wardrobe and, for those who have not, there have sometimes been calamitous consequences.audio_videoPID:b048wss8Mon, 19 Nov 2018 01:30:00 GMTTeenage Tommieshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pcmz5
In this moving tribute to the teenage heroes of the Great War, Fergal Keane unearths the most powerful stories of Britain's boy soldiers. With as many as 250,000 boys under the age of 18 having served in the British Army during World War I, and with every tenth volunteer lying about his age, Fergal finds out what made them enlist. Was it motivated by patriotism or the spirit of adventure?
Fergal follows the children into the trenches to see how they coped with the reality of war. He explores how, as the casualties began to mount, a movement grew in Britain to get them home. Fergal also meets the children and grandchildren of these former boy solders, uncovering heartrending but often uplifting stories and taking them on an emotional journey to the places where their ancestors trained and fought.audio_videoPID:b04pcmz5Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTTestament of Youthhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06j49gb
In 1914, despite her father's opposition, Vera Brittain is determined to attempt the entrance examination for Somerville College Oxford to pursue her literary dreams. Her brother Edward supports her plan, as does his good friend Roland who shares Vera's passion for poetry. Hiding their love from their families, Vera and Roland's plans of a future together is cruelly frustrated by the declaration of the First World War. When the young men sign up for duty, Vera cannot sit idly by and volunteers as a nurse.audio_videoPID:b06j49gbMon, 12 Nov 2018 01:10:00 GMTThere She Goes / Series 1: 5. Benhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs475p
Rosie is incredibly excited - Gandalf is finally coming because there is going to be a birthday with lots of presents! It doesn't matter to Rosie that it's Ben's birthday. The extended family set off for a birthday meal.audio_videoPID:b0bs475pTue, 13 Nov 2018 22:30:00 GMTTimeshift / Series 15: 4. The People's Liners - Britain's Lost Pleasure Fleetshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06jnzjx
Timeshift casts off for a colourful voyage of 'high teas on the high seas' in the company of passengers and crew of the vintage steamers which were once a common sight on the rivers and coastal waters around Britain.
Far more than a means of transport, these steamers attracted a devoted following, treating their passengers, whatever their pocket, to the adventure and trappings of an ocean voyage whilst actually rarely venturing out of sight of land. A highlight of the great British seaside holiday from the 1820s until the early 1960s - and open to all - they were 'the people's liners'.audio_videoPID:b06jnzjxMon, 29 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTTimewatch / 2008-2009: 5. The Last Day of World War Onehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fg9hw
Michael Palin tells the story of how the First World War ended on 11th November 1918 and reveals the shocking truth that soldiers continued to be killed in battle for many hours after the armistice had been signed. Recounting the events of the days and hours leading up to that last morning, Palin tells the personal stories of the last soldiers to die as the minutes and seconds ticked away to the 11 o'clock ceasefire.audio_videoPID:b00fg9hwFri, 02 Nov 2018 01:30:00 GMTTopsy and Tim / Series 2: 2. New Pethttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0499mzj
Topsy and Tim love caring for their new pet rabbit but struggle to agree on his name. When they notice how wiggly his nose is, they know just what to call him!audio_videoPID:b0499mzjSun, 18 Nov 2018 12:00:00 GMTTracy Beaker Returns / Series 3: 13. Goodbye Tracy Beakerhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dzp29
Tracy is leaving for a new job but can't help feeling that Mike is glad to see her go, so she concocts one last 'Tracy plan' to get his attention.audio_videoPID:b01dzp29Sun, 02 Sep 2018 15:40:00 GMTTreasure Champs / Series 1: 15. Self-Respecthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09tmms9
Preschool mixed media show exploring moral values common to different faiths and cultures. In order to celebrate their gifts, Kari is hosting a Treasure Champs talent show, but Barry needs help to see that his unique talent is worthy of a performance. Thingy's limbo stunt and Kari's trumpet playing and ball bouncing act go down a storm, but how will Barry's combination of yodelling and eyebrow dancing be received?
We meet one Treasure Champ who takes part in a special family photoshoot and another who is showing her violin skills to her whole class.
Plus, storyteller Ben tells the story of David the Singing Shepherd Boy.audio_videoPID:b09tmms9Sun, 28 Oct 2018 16:55:00 GMTTreasures of the Anglo Saxonshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t6xzx
Art historian Dr Nina Ramirez reveals the codes and messages hidden in Anglo-Saxon art. From the beautiful jewellery that adorned the first violent pagan invaders through to the stunning Christian manuscripts they would become famous for, she explores the beliefs and ideas that shaped Anglo-Saxon art.
Examining many of the greatest Anglo Saxon treasures - such as the Sutton Hoo Treasures, the Staffordshire Hoard, the Franks Casket and the Lindisfarne Gospels - Dr Ramirez charts 600 years of artistic development which was stopped dead in its tracks by the Norman Conquest.audio_videoPID:b00t6xzxSun, 11 Nov 2018 23:30:00 GMTTrust / Series 1: 10. Consequenceshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06hjb69
The Gettys and the Italians deal with the repercussions of the kidnapping, and Chace embarks on a new journey.audio_videoPID:p06hjb69Wed, 12 Sep 2018 20:00:00 GMTThe Truth About... / 11. Stresshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04yy2n4
The World Health Organisation has described stress as 'the health epidemic of the 21st century'. In this programme Fiona Phillips wants to understand why we are experiencing increased amounts of stress in our lives and what actions we can take in order to reduce it.
Fiona speaks openly about her own experience of stress and her desire to find better coping mechanisms in the hope of improving her health and happiness. A key question driving Fiona's discovery is whether or not some types of stress might actually be good for us and drive us towards better performance and confidence at work and a healthier approach to the pressure and stress we might face at home. Fiona investigates this latest scientific thinking and learns how to turn stress into a weapon rather than a woe, simply by changing the way we perceive it. We reveal exciting new research about stress that could help us to lose weight - particularly those suffering from diabetes or obesity.
Alongside a team of experts and a number of willing volunteers, Fiona puts herself on the front line and in a number of high-stress situations to truly understand the meaning and power of stress, and find out if we can actually learn how to use it to our advantage.
Fiona explores some of the very latest scientific research behind stress and demonstrates a number of techniques and lifestyle changes which are designed to keep our high stress levels in check.audio_videoPID:p04yy2n4Thu, 13 Sep 2018 09:48:59 GMTThe Real Doctor Zhivagohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09djrvr
Dr Zhivago is one of the best-known love stories of the 20th century, but the setting of the book also made it famous. It is a tale of passion and fear, set against a backdrop of revolution and violence. The film is what most people remember, but the story of the writing of the book has more twists, intrigue and bravery than many a Hollywood blockbuster.
In this documentary, Stephen Smith traces the revolutionary beginnings of this bestseller, to it becoming a pawn of the CIA at the height of the Cold War. The writer of the novel, Boris Pasternak, in the words of his family, willingly committed acts of literary suicide in being true to the Russia he loved, but being honest about the Soviet regime he hated and despised. Under Stalin, writers and artists just disappeared if they didn't support the party line. Many were murdered.
Writing his book for over 20 tumultuous years, Boris Pasternak knew it could result in his death. It did result in his mistress being sent to the Gulag twice, but he had to have his say. This is the story of the writing of perhaps the bravest book ever published. It is the story before the film won Oscars and its author the Nobel Prize, it is the untold story of the real Dr Zhivago - Boris Pasternak.audio_videoPID:b09djrvrWed, 24 Oct 2018 23:00:00 GMTThe Real T rex with Chris Packhamhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09ksl99
Chris Packham goes on an investigative journey into the mysteries of planet Earth's super predator - Tyrannosaurus rex. The latest groundbreaking palaeontological discoveries combined with studies of modern animals are redefining this iconic dinosaur. Tackling everything from the way he looked, moved, socialised - even down to his terrifying roar - Chris strips away Hollywood myths to uncover the amazing truth, and utilizing the latest CGI wizardry, he rebuilds the most authentic T rex ever seen from the bones up.
Chris's journey begins in the badlands of Montana, where he has the chance to touch a T rex fossil still emerging from the 65-million-year-old rocks. From here he travels to Berlin to visit Tristan, a T rex skeleton recently excavated from the badlands. These bare bones pose more questions and Chris decides his challenge is to rebuild Tristan with CGI, using the latest discoveries to fill in the gaps. He visits palaeontologist Greg Erikson in Alabama, who is exploring the power of T rex's jaws by comparing them to what we can gauge from modern alligators.
Chris learns that although T rex bore similarities to reptiles, his musculature shows him to be more like a bird. He then takes a prehistoric paddle in the rivers of Dino-State Park in Texas, where exposed dinosaur footprints form long trackways that are the passion of dino-paw expert Glen Kuban. His findings lead Chris to compare T rex with modern flightless birds in an effort to work out just how fast he could move. With the help of palaeontologist and biomechanics expert John Hutchinson, he discovers that the huge tail was not a drag but the source of T rex's locomotive power - but that there were limits which we learn when they put a virtual Tristan on a treadmill.
Chris visits Larry Witmer in Ohio, who has used CT scanners to look into a fossilized skull and find the precise shape of T rex's brain. From this, he has identified supersized sensory zones - proving that he is a great hunter - but also an inner ear that indicates he was designed to hear ultra-low frequency infrasounds. Taking this lead, Chris goes to a sound studio in Berlin with palaeontologist Julia Clarke to experiment with recreating the surprising true roar of T rex.
In order to add the final look to Tristan, Julia Clarke, who has scoured microscopic samples of dinosaur skin for evidence of coloration, helps Chris find a palette based on melanin, as seen in modern birds of prey. Just before Tristan is finished, Chris takes one more trip to Alberta, Canada, where he meets palaeontologist Phil Currie, who suggests on the evidence of a recent fossil find that T rex may have been social predators, living in prides like African lions. Finally, Chris sets Tristan free and in a scene Chris has imagined his whole life, he finally gets to go nose to nose with an animal he has longed to meet.audio_videoPID:b09ksl99Sun, 21 Oct 2018 19:00:00 GMTThe Real Versailleshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dprr6
As BBC Two premieres its lavish new period drama set in the sumptuous surroundings of Versailles, Lucy Worsley and Helen Castor tell the real-life stories behind one of the world's grandest buildings. They reveal in vivid detail the colourful world of sex, drama and intrigue that Louis XIV and his courtiers inhabited.
As chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Lucy Worsley untangles Louis XIV's complex world of court etiquette, fashion and feasting, while court politics expert Helen Castor delves into the archives and unpicks the Machiavellian world that Louis created.
Our historians meet the real people behind the on-screen characters. They discover what drove Louis XIV to glorify his reign on a scale unmatched by any previous monarch, examine the tension between Louis and his only brother Philippe, an overt homosexual and battle hero, and they meet the coterie of women who competed for Louis's attention.
As Lucy and Helen show, Louis XIV was ruthless in his pursuit of glory and succeeded in defeating his enemies. In his record-breaking 72-year reign, France became renowned for its culture and sophistication.audio_videoPID:b07dprr6Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTThe Red Shoeshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074t6v
Eager young ballerina Victoria Page is delighted at being given the opportunity to dance with the renowned Ballet Lermontov, little realising the demands of its brilliant yet arrogant impresario will force a tragic choice between her career and her lover.audio_videoPID:b0074t6vSat, 10 Nov 2018 15:10:00 GMTReel History of Britain / 5. The Roaring Twentieshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00jv7kl
Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country, to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.
At Cliveden House in Berkshire, Melvyn looks back to the Roaring Twenties to discover how the other half lived, when a group of bright young people created Britain's first modern cult of celebrity.
The tragic story of Britain's original 'it girl', Elizabeth Ponsonby, is told by her niece Elizabeth. The current Lord Astor returns to his ancestral home to give a guided tour. And Martin Blaber explains what life was like below stairs for Cliveden's renowned head butler, his uncle, Edwin Lee.audio_videoPID:p00jv7klFri, 09 Nov 2018 14:15:00 GMTRegimental Stories / 5. The Coldstream Guardshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015sl43
Formed to fight against the monarchy during the English Civil War, the Coldstream Guards now serve as a bodyguard to the Queen. This film reveals how their history continues to motivate them to this day.audio_videoPID:b015sl43Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTRick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul / Series 1: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06bc3pw
Rick Stein's epic journey from Venice to Istanbul is nearing its completion as he leaves southern Greece for the shores of western Turkey. On the Cesme Peninsula, he enjoys creamy Armola cheese matured in goat skins, Urla's famous red wine and the ultimate Turkish breakfast. He also cooks Turkey's iconic dish of sultan's delight - mouthwatering lamb stew on a bed of aubergine puree.audio_videoPID:b06bc3pwSat, 17 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMTRome: A History of the Eternal City / 3. The Rebirth of God's Cityhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pdt0s
Simon Sebag Montefiore charts Rome's rise from the abandonment and neglect of the 14th century into the everlasting seat of the papacy recognised today. His story takes us through the debauchery and decadence of the Renaissance, the horrors of the Sack of Rome and the Catholic Reformation, through to the arrival of fascism and the creation of the Vatican State. By taking us inside Rome's most sensational palaces and churches and telling the stories behind some of the world's most beloved art, Sebag Montefiore's final instalment is a visual feast.audio_videoPID:b01pdt0sMon, 05 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTSarah & Duck / Series 3: 31. Boo Nighthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09czqtg
Sarah and Duck learn all about Boo Night and attempt to make their own scary costumes.audio_videoPID:b09czqtgFri, 26 Oct 2018 11:45:00 GMTSaving Lives at Sea / Series 3: Episode 10http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqn27z
Every day in the seas around the UK and Ireland, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to save those of others. This series tells the story of the ordinary men and women of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) who are ready to race to the rescue of those in trouble, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whatever the weather. Using footage shot on the crews' own cameras, this series takes the viewers into the heart of the action, capturing the unpredictable work of the RNLI in unique detail.
Every summer as the warm weather returns and the great British public heads to the beach the lifeboat crews and lifeguard teams around the country get ready for their busiest time of year. Off the packed beach at Blackpool, the crew race after a teenage girl being swept out to sea on an inflatable dinghy. While on the miles of long sandy beaches at Rhyl in north Wales, amongst the holidaying crowds two girls get caught in a deadly current while swimming just a few metres from shore. And on the Cornish coast a woman, trying out the extreme sport of coasteering for the very first time, falls several metres down a cliff face onto a beach with a fast incoming tide.audio_videoPID:b0bqn27zTue, 30 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTThe Secret History of Our Streets / Series 2: 1. The Moray Estate, Edinburghhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04bx5r1
BBC Two's multi-award-winning Secret History of Our Streets told the story of six London streets, from Victorian times to the present day.
Now, as its people stand at a crossroads in their history, the series travels to Scotland to tell the stories of three archetypal streets in Scotland's three great cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Endlessly surprising and not at all what you would expect, the stories of these streets are the story of a nation.
This is the story of Edinburgh's New Town and the Moray Estate - an area unlike anywhere else in Britain, with an architecture and a people seemingly unchanged over almost 200 years. The last bastion of the British Empire. A group of Scots, at a pivotal moment in time... the grandest street in Scotland.audio_videoPID:b04bx5r1Sat, 17 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTSecret Life of Boys / Series 3: Halloween Special Part Twohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqrg4b
Posers have taken over the haunted house and plan to use it for evil. It's up to Ethan and Ginger to save not only their family, but also the world.audio_videoPID:b0bqrg4bSat, 27 Oct 2018 05:00:00 GMTThe Secret Life of Sue Townsend (Aged 68 3/4)http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080391j
Sue Townsend left school at 14 with no qualifications and in her early twenties was a single mother struggling to feed her three children. A decade later, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 was a critical and commercial smash and she had become the best-selling author of her era.
Julie Walters narrates this extraordinary story of a working-class woman who achieved literary stardom through sheer talent and an irrepressible will to write. From Adrian Mole to The Queen & I, Sue Townsend's books combine a brilliantly funny writing style with often biting satire, captivating not just a nation's readers but influencing a generation of writers and performers.
A warm and witty celebration of Sue Townsend's life and writing, the story is told with the help of children from Sue's old school, her friends and family, as well as the comedy and literary stars she inspired - including Stephen Mangan, Ian Hislop, David Nicholls, Isy Suttie and Adrian Scarborough. Drawing on Sue Townsend's own archive of letters and notebooks, the film also features unseen photographs, footage and even her appointment diary, which includes poignant entries about her struggles with ill health, written in a humorous style instantly recognisable from her books.audio_videoPID:b080391jTue, 23 Oct 2018 00:15:00 GMTThe Secret Science of Pophttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gk664
Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Leroi believes data science can transform the pop world. He gathers a team of scientists and researchers to analyse over 50 years of UK chart music. Can algorithms find the secret to pop success?
When the results are in, Armand teams up with hit producer Trevor Horn. Using machine-learning techniques, Armand and Trevor try to take a song by unsigned artist Nike Jemiyo and turn it into a potential chart-topper.
Armand also takes a scientific look at pop evolution. He hunts for the major revolutions in his historic chart data, looking for those artists who transformed the musical landscape. The outcomes are fascinating and surprising, though fans of the Fab Four may not be pleased with the results. As Armand puts it, the hallmark of The Beatles is 'average'.
Finally, by teaming up with BBC research and development, Armand finds out if his algorithms can discover the stars of the future. Can he predict which of thousands of demo tracks uploaded to BBC Introducing is most likely to be a hit without listening to a note?
This is a clash of science and culture and a unique experiment with no guarantee of success. How will the artists react to the scientist intruding on their turf? And will Armand succeed in finding a secret science of pop?audio_videoPID:b08gk664Fri, 16 Nov 2018 02:35:00 GMTSgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodallhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tb97f
50 years ago this week, on 1 June, 1967, an album was released that changed music history - The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In this film, composer Howard Goodall explores just why this album is still seen as so innovative, so revolutionary and so influential. With the help of outtakes and studio conversations between the band, never heard before outside of Abbey Road, Howard gets under the bonnet of Sgt Pepper. He takes the music apart and reassembles it, to show us how it works - and makes surprising connections with the music of the last 1,000 years to do so.
Sgt Pepper came about as a result of a watershed in The Beatles' career. In August 1966, sick of the screaming mayhem of live shows, they'd taken what was then seen as the career-ending decision to stop touring altogether. Instead, beginning that December, they immersed themselves in Abbey Road with their creative partner, producer George Martin, for an unprecedented five months. What they produced didn't need to be recreated live on stage. The Beatles took full advantage of this freedom, turning the studio from a place where a band went to capture its live sound, as quickly as possible, into an audio laboratory, a creative launch pad. As Howard shows, they and George Martin and his team constructed the album sound by sound, layer by layer - a formula that became the norm for just about every rock act who followed.
In June 1967, after what amounted to a press blackout about what they'd been up to, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. It was a sensation, immediately becoming the soundtrack to the Summer of Love - and one of the best-selling, most critically lauded albums of all time. It confirmed that a 'pop music' album could be an art form, not just a collection of three-minute singles. It's regularly been voted one of the most important and influential records ever released.
In this film, Howard Goodall shows that it is the sheer ambition of Sgt Pepper - in its conception, composition, arrangements and innovative recording techniques - that sets it apart.
Made with unprecedented access to The Beatles' pictorial archive, this is an in-depth exploration, in sound and vision, of one of the most important and far-reaching moments in recent music history.audio_videoPID:b08tb97fTue, 23 Oct 2018 23:30:00 GMTThe Silk Road / Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03qb3q4
In the final episode of his series tracing the story of the most famous trade route in history, Dr Sam Willis continues his journey west in Iran. The first BBC documentary team to be granted entry for nearly a decade, Sam begins in the legendary city of Persepolis - heart of the first Persian Empire.
Following an ancient caravan route through Persia's deserts, he visits a Zoroastrian temple where a holy fire has burned for 1,500 years, and Esfahan, one of the Silk Road's architectural jewels and rival to Sam's next destination - Istanbul. In the ancient capital of Byzantium, Sam discovers how the eastern Roman Empire was ruled through silk and how Venetian merchants cashed in on the wealth and trade it generated.
Sam's last stop takes him full circle to Venice. Visiting Marco Polo's house, Sam reminds us how the great traveller's book was one of the first to link east to west and how the ideas and products that trickled down the Silk Road not only helped to trigger the Renaissance, but set Europe on a path of unstoppable change.audio_videoPID:p03qb3q4Tue, 06 Nov 2018 23:30:00 GMTSleuths, Spies & Sorcerers: Andrew Marr's Paperback Heroes / 2. Fantasyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p040pw15
What is it about stories of magic, epic adventure, and imaginary worlds that has turned fantasy fiction into one of the world's most popular forms of storytelling, regularly filling the bestseller lists and entrancing adults and children alike?
In the second episode of his series that deconstructs the books we (really) read, Andrew Marr argues that these stories are filled with big ideas. Yes, there may be wizards with pointy hats as well as the odd dragon, but what fantasy novels are really good at is allowing us to see our own world in a surprising way, albeit through a twisted gothic filter.
The current leading exponent of fantasy fiction is a bearded Texan, George RR Martin, whose A Game of Thrones began a bookshelf-buckling series of novels, and spawned a vast TV empire. But Andrew reminds us that this is a genre whose origins are British, and at its heart is still a quest to reconnect readers with the ancient ideas and folk beliefs of the world before the Enlightenment.
Andrew breaks down fantasy books into a set of conventions that govern the modern genre - he looks at the intricacy with which imaginary worlds are built (as seen in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series), the use of portals that are able to bridge this world and another (most famously, the wardrobe in CS Lewis's Narnia books), as well the concept of 'thinning' - these novels are typically set in a world in decline. In fantasy fiction, winter is always coming.
To help him understand these books, Andrew meets bestselling fantasy writers and the programme includes interviews with Neil Gaiman, Alan Garner and Frances Hardinge.
As well as profiling key figures such as CS Lewis and Sir Terry Pratchett, Andrew considers the spell that medieval Oxford has cast on generations of authors from Lewis Carroll to Philip Pullman. And he gets to grips with the legacy of JRR Tolkien, a figure so important that his influence pops up everywhere 'like Mount Fuji in Japanese prints', according to Pratchett. Tolkien's predominance would not go unchallenged, and Andrew shows how writers like Ursula K Le Guin confronted Tolkien's rather European notions of what an imaginary world should be.audio_videoPID:p040pw15Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:30:00 GMTSmile! The Nation's Family Albumhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08j8jj3
In today's digital age, the classic family photo album has become an object of nostalgic affection. But it's much more than just a collection of sentimental snapshots.
Celebrating everyday moments and shared experiences, family photography offers an intimate portrait of Britain's postwar social history. And each generation had a different camera to tell their story.
Discovering how new technologies and evolving social attitudes inspired the nation to pick up a camera, the film charts a journey from the Box Brownie to Instagram, offering a touching portrait of our changing lives, taken not by the professional photographer but on our own cameras.
With increasingly affordable, quick-to-load and easy-to-use cameras, domestic photography became part of family life in the 20th century.
Suddenly we could all now document our family's celebrations, holidays and hobbies, and capture the most fleeting and precious memories, from birth to death.
We became a nation obsessed with taking photos, and tirelessly curating scrapbooks, and filling shoeboxes and albums with pictures that tell our family's own story.
But with the advent of digital cameras, the era of patiently waiting for the holiday snaps to come back from the processor and carefully arranging them in photo albums feels a long way from today's frenzy of digital images, instantly shared and uploaded...
The film features expert voices explaining the impact of different camera technologies, the role of Kodak in helping create an industry of popular photography, the impact of the digital revolution and the way changes in family photography have also reflected shifts in the family dynamic itself. It's no longer just dad in control of the camera, and mobile phones and social media have turned kids into photographers from a young age...
Among the stories featured in the film...
Using her father's Box Brownie as a young girl, then armed with the latest Kodak instamatic in her teens, and now using a digital SLR, Jenny Bowden's photos capture the past 60 years, from the 1950s street parades to the 60s mods, the 70s fashions when she married and started her own family, the various birthdays, graduations and weddings and deaths, and in the past decade the arrival of her own grandchildren, her albums span across her house. Today when her grandchildren visit, they head straight to the shelves as they love to flick through the albums and see themselves as babies.
Besotted and first-time mum Astrid has taken thousands of photos on her iPhone of her son Alexander since his birth eight months ago. Unlike her own mother Terry, whose photos of Astrid as a baby were considered and less frequent due to the costs of 35mm film, Astrid has the luxury of snapping away all day, taking advantage of the ease and low costs of the digital age, as she records her and Alexander's first year together. Proud Astrid spreads the happiness Alexander brings with Terry and other family via WhatsApp and Instagram.
We meet the English eccentric John Dobson, who has 161 carefully annotated scrapbooks - and counting! His careful curating of happy family memories helped him overcome his own childhood spent in a children's home.
We also meet the devoted Yorkshire dad Ian Macleod, who took a photo of his son every single day until his 21st birthday, and the Slight family in Essex, whose larger-than-life characters grew up in a pub and captured an East End way of life that no longer exists.
And we discover the emotional impact of family photos, with a family movingly sharing the very last film taken on a father's camera before he died.
From the extraordinary to the mundane, family photos capture the intimate moments of our lives. Often overlooked in the official story of photography, this film champions the family photo and the unique portrait it reveals of how the nation tells its own story.audio_videoPID:b08j8jj3Fri, 26 Oct 2018 01:35:00 GMTSnowfall / Series 2: 7. The World is Yourshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06m0pxb
Franklin brings Leon and Kevin in on his plans to build an empire with them at his side every step of the way, but that doesn't mean he's prepared to compromise his rules.
Teddy is prepared to help Franklin, but he and Matt run into yet more trouble with the Colombians.
Louie's ideas have reinvigorated Claudia's club, but she finds that even now she's a success, she won't be allowed to forget her past.audio_videoPID:p06m0pxbMon, 15 Oct 2018 10:16:20 GMTSo Awkward / Series 4: 12. Inspiring Women of Tomorrowhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brg79m
The girls follow an app promising future success, but can they resist their weaknesses?audio_videoPID:b0brg79mThu, 01 Nov 2018 17:00:00 GMTYorkshire Wolds Way / Episode 1http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b088nwg0
Adventurer Paul Rose explores the 79 miles of the Yorkshire Wolds Way, arguably Britain's least well-known national walking trail. The trail starts at the Humber Estuary and ends at the Yorkshire seaside resort of Filey. On the way, Paul takes in the views of the Yorkshire Wolds from the top of the Humber Bridge, learns to ride a penny farthing and searches out the spots made internationally famous by the artist David Hockney.audio_videoPID:b088nwg0Mon, 12 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTThe Zoo / Series 2: 10. The Search of the Inner Tigerhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b09l77
It's time for the zoo's new tiger cub to meet his massive, meat-munching, food-obsessed dad. As rumours of the big event spread around the zoo, its residents gather to watch the showdown. Self-appointed leader and lifestyle guru Jurgen offers some sage advice to the tiny tiger cub, until he too gets spooked by the prospect of facing such a big predator. With only his courage to drawn on, will the diminutive cub find his inner tiger in time?audio_videoPID:b0b09l77Sun, 21 Oct 2018 06:45:00 GMTIreland's Treasures Uncoveredhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070w5kh
The story of the iconic Irish artefacts that have helped to shape and create modern Ireland, both north and south.
The programme reveals the surprising tales behind treasures such as the Tara Brooch, the Broighter Hoard, the Waterford Charter Roll and others, revealing new stories behind the artefacts that we thought we knew. It also reveals the most recent astounding finds that are adding to the list of Ireland's Treasures.
Using key access to Ireland's two largest museums, in Belfast and Dublin, the programme brings together archaeologists and curators who have spent their lives working to understand the true context for these emblematic treasures.audio_videoPID:b070w5khWed, 07 Nov 2018 01:30:00 GMTIreland with Simon Reeve / Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rhqmg
Starting at the spectacular Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, Simon travels down the east coast to the great and rapidly changing cities of Belfast and Dublin. He ends his journey in the stunning Wicklow Mountains.audio_videoPID:b06rhqmgThu, 15 Nov 2018 09:00:00 GMTIsland Medics / Series 2: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsscq8
The annual fire festival Up Helly Aa gets under way with a traditional visit to the hospital from the squads of men dressed in Viking garb. It is a night to remember for one reveller, who ends up in A&E with serious burns after an accident with a kettle. A specialist retrieval team beats the weather to get to a critically ill patient who needs urgent treatment on the mainland. And an 84-year-old marathon runner is stopped in his tracks by a fall that breaks his hip. But after an operation, he is determined to get back to fitness.audio_videoPID:b0bsscq8Mon, 19 Nov 2018 10:00:00 GMTJames May's Cars of the People / Series 2: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070k3ny
James explores the wilder shores of motoring to discover what happened to the cars of the future that we were promised. From improbable steam cars and ludicrous jet turbines, he reveals how the petrol engine and the power it gave us came to dominate the 20th century. He takes to the waves in an amphibious car, risks his life at the wheel of a notorious electric scooter and takes a hair-raising trip in the fastest driverless car on earth.audio_videoPID:b070k3nySun, 21 Oct 2018 20:00:00 GMTJamie Johnson / Series 3: 10. End of the Linehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5y2p1
It's time for Jamie to say goodbye to Jack and decide whether he's signing for premier division Foxborough or staying with grass-roots club Phoenix. Jamie knows where his heart lies but is he ready for either decision?audio_videoPID:b0b5y2p1Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:15:00 GMTJamillah and Aladdin / Series 2: 26. Genie Hunterhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x0vjx
The Vizier hires a nasty genie hunter for Baghdad, so Jamillah and Aladdin hide Genie away until it's safe. Only problem is, they can't remember where they hid him!audio_videoPID:b07x0vjxSun, 28 Oct 2018 17:35:00 GMTJoe All Alone / Series 1: 3. No Way Outhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1290g
Joe gets ready for school but he looks a sorry sight. His mum should have been home three days ago, he's run out of money and is almost out of food. His fear of Dean still stops Joe from touching a penny of the money he found.
At break time, Joe's nemesis, the bully Perry Fletcher, turns the screws on Joe a little tighter by demanding money - a pound today, two pounds tomorrow.
Back at home, a starving Joe eats the out-of-date curry that Dean left in the fridge, which has disastrous results and he is violently sick for two days. He can't go to school, hallucinates that Dean is in the flat, and then the electricity runs out. Can things get any worse for Joe?audio_videoPID:b0b1290gTue, 13 Nov 2018 17:30:00 GMTJunk Rescue / Series 1: 10. Wooden Doorhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b8lrgn
A new delivery of junk has arrived at the junkyard. Danny, Zoe and the Junkyard Helpers find a wooden door with a big hole in it. Danny takes it to Ben the Wood Worker, who turns it into something fun that can float. Zoe and the Junkyard Helpers get busy turning old cardboard tubes into exciting new toys, and there are three new ideas for things you can make at home using junk.audio_videoPID:b0b8lrgnSun, 18 Nov 2018 14:50:00 GMTKatie Morag / Series 2: 6. Katie Morag and the Big Shinty Matchhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052zzp9
The annual shinty match between Struay and Coll is approaching, and this year it is crucial that Struay win the game, or they will lose the cup for good. The new manager, Mr McColl, chooses the team, and Neilly Beag, who was once Struay's star player, tries his best to get extra-fit to make sure he is picked.audio_videoPID:b052zzp9Sun, 18 Nov 2018 17:50:00 GMTKilled By My Debthttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p067bmlh
The story of Jerome Rogers, a popular 19-year-old from a council estate, who in January 2015, finally got what he had been working for - a new motorbike and his first real job as a courier. But when two Â£65 traffic fines rose to over Â£1,000, bailiffs became involved. Some weeks his take-home pay in his zero-hours job was as low as Â£12, and under the pressure of his debt, Jerome took his own life.audio_videoPID:p067bmlhTue, 29 May 2018 08:00:00 GMTKilling at the Carwashhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p058dcfc
Documentary exploring the shocking levels of gun crime in America by tracking one shooting in forensic detail. Set against the backdrop of escalating gang violence in LA, director Lindsey Mace investigates the murder of 19-year-old Tavin Price, who was shot four times for wearing the wrong colour shoes.audio_videoPID:p058dcfcWed, 22 Aug 2018 23:15:00 GMTKilling Eve / Series 1: 8. God, I'm Tiredhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06kch8w
Villanelle is still on the run, but she has a hostage and she has a plan. Eve, Carolyn and Kenny are still in Russia, but old secrets coming to light have led to tension in the group. Can Eve finally get to Villanelle before the whole operation comes crashing down around them?audio_videoPID:p06kch8wSat, 15 Sep 2018 20:25:00 GMTKit & Pup / Series 1: 51. Flowershttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brfc4r
Let's find out about trees with Kit and Pup! Kit and Pup are looking after the flowers in their garden, but Kit's enthusiasm results in a few mishaps with the flowers. Through their adventures, Kit and Pup find out that flowers are colourful and have petals and that bees love flowers. In the live action investigation two little scientists discover how petals come in different shapes and sizes, and in the material world a little explorer waves from the centre of a flower.audio_videoPID:b0brfc4rMon, 05 Nov 2018 09:20:00 GMTLast Chance Lawyer NYC / Series 1: 4. I'll Rest when the Enemy Restshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqm539
Four-part series that follows the exploits of attorney at law Howard Greenberg, a man who practises criminal law like you have never seen before.
It is summer in New York and tensions are rising in the Greenberg Law office. As the series draws to a close, the practice is overrun with work. Cases pile up, court dates need attending and Howard has another major trial on the horizon. As the final episode begins, Howard and junior attorney Jonathan are at loggerheads over this ever-mounting work schedule. Jonathan feels that Howard makes unreasonable demands on his time. He is also under pressure from his girlfriend over his work-life balance. So it is no surprise that tempers flare when Howard lectures Jonathan that he needs to be more flexible. Lena, as ever, is caught in the middle.
As we see throughout this episode, the increased workload stems from Howard's belief that he should never turn down a case, no matter how big or small. For him, being a defence attorney means doing whatever it takes to help his clients. Working weekends or driving miles out of town for a court date is all part of the job. But does Jonathan share Howard's commitment?
As the episode continues, Howard takes on another big murder trial. But this time there is an intriguing twist: his client doesn't deny he did it - it's just a question of 'why?' The prosecutor says it is cold-blooded murder. The defendant claims he stepped in to help a woman in distress who was being stalked by the deceased. But this mystery woman has disappeared. With nothing to corroborate the story, the prosecutor is in a strong position to gain a murder conviction. With the trial approaching Howard 'goes to the mattress' - hunkering down in his Staten Island apartment to pore over the evidence. Can he find the crucial missing jigsaw piece to back up his client's story?
After 25 years together, Marie knows that her husband is a workaholic. But if there is one thing she could change about Howard, it is the lack of romance in their marriage. And, in this episode, she tries to change this state of affairs. Her best friend Jen recommends that Marie get hold of a relationship manual to identify ways she and Howard can reconnect. Could this be the key to re-sparking their marriage?
As the series draws to a close, the workload continues to pile up. But Jonathan thinks he's found a solution: hiring in a new lawyer to help spread the load. Howard seems sceptical at first, but when the perfect candidate turns up for an interview he soon changes his mind. As we leave the Greenberg Law Office for the final time, is there a feeling that Jonathan could end up playing second fiddle to this new recruit?audio_videoPID:b0bqm539Sun, 28 Oct 2018 21:45:00 GMTThe League of Gentlemen / Anniversary Specials: 3. Royston Vasey Mon Amourhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09kcxdt
The local authorities, the local paper and the local police all play their part as the developing situation in Royston Vasey reaches its earth-shattering climax. Can the genii be put back in the bottle? And what dark forces have been unleashed in the amphibarium? Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss star in scripts written by themselves and Jeremy Dyson.audio_videoPID:b09kcxdtTue, 05 Jun 2018 14:22:46 GMTLife Story / Parenthoodhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p026vhrd
In the final episode of Life Story, animals attempt to rear their offspring. This takes extraordinary commitment, and a parent may even need to risk its own life for its offspring. A female turtle, returning to the island where she was born 30 years ago, hauls herself up the beach to lay her eggs in a safe place above the tide line. But her commitment may prove her undoing. The low tide traps her on the island behind a wall of coral. If she cannot climb over it, the heat of the sun will kill her.
A mother bonobo chimpanzee lavishes care on her son for five years, deep in the Congo forest. Their bond will endure for the rest of her life. She will teach him how to survive in the jungle. One of her most important lessons is showing him a hidden forest pool where they harvest lilies rich in minerals essential for their good health.
A mother zebra must decide where to lead her young foal across the Mara river so that they can reach new grazing grounds. Should she cross where they will face predators such as crocodiles? Or should she lead her foal through treacherous rapids? Her foal's life may rest on the decision she makes.
In a touching scene, elephants delicately stroke the bones of an ancestor. We cannot know what they are thinking, but perhaps like humans they have a sense of a shared history? It is a communal experience that appears to draw the family members closer together.audio_videoPID:p026vhrdSat, 27 Oct 2018 20:00:00 GMTThe Little Drummer Girl / Series 1: Episode 4http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsrc4w
In London, Kurtz's team prepare for the next stage of the operation as Charlie waits and wonders if Michel's people will make contact.audio_videoPID:b0bsrc4wSun, 18 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTLocomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways / Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qh3z3
Over just 50 years, Britain's railways grew from a handful of small lines carrying coal to the biggest industry in the strongest nation on the planet. A nation had built the railways and now those railways would build a nation, influencing working conditions for its employees, proving a valuable export across the globe and even changing warfare.
Yet the story of railways up until the beginning of the Second World War concerned who they really belonged to - the private rail companies who were obsessed with profit, the public who rode them, or the government, who needed them at times of crisis but was reluctant to regulate.audio_videoPID:b01qh3z3Sun, 04 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTLong Shadow / 1. Remembering and Understandinghttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04jr0x4
David Reynolds shows how the common perception of the Great War as futile slaughter has been moulded over time. The image of mud and trenches, poets and poppies was not the general view in the 1920s and 1930s, but developed after the Second World War and most of all, through popular depictions of the war from the 1960s.
Reynolds gets to the roots of shifting public memory by comparing the British and German sense of what the Great War meant right back in its immediate aftermath. Britain invested in the diplomatic ideals of the League of Nations, and Reynolds charts the extraordinary popularity of disarmament movements. For many British people, the terrible sacrifice would not have been in vain if the Great War proved be the war to end war. Reynolds tells the story of the Peace Ballot of 1935, which attracted an extraordinary 11.9 million signatories who hoped to stop the slide to war of 1914 ever happening again. In Weimar and Berlin, Reynolds shows that, by contrast, what mattered for Germany was not preventing another 1914 but another 1918 - the year of humiliating defeat. He also examines the myth of the stab in the back which fuelled the rise of Adolf Hitler and another, even more appalling conflict.
The Second World War changed the meaning of the Great War, creating the sense that 1914-18 had been an ineffectual sacrifice that required a second round. Reynolds examines how in the 1960s a new, less deferential generation looked back at the First World War during the 50th anniversaries. In plays like Oh! What a Lovely War and the rediscovery of war poets like Wilfred Owen, they helped set the public memory of a futile war waged by stupid generals.audio_videoPID:b04jr0x4Mon, 19 Nov 2018 23:25:00 GMTLost Kingdoms of Central America / 3. Between Oceans and Empireshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04jvpqj
Dr Jago Cooper explores the rise and fall of the forgotten civilisations of Central America.
His quest takes him from from the crystal blue seas of the Caribbean to the New World's most impressive pyramids, flying over the smoking volcanoes of Costa Rica and travelling deep underground in the caves of central Mexico.
He travels in the footsteps of these peoples to reveal their secrets and unearth the astonishing cultures that flourished amongst some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world.
In this episode, Jago explores the forgotten people of ancient Costa Rica, who built a series of spectacular settlements amongst the rivers and volcanoes of Central America and whose enigmatic legacy - including hundreds of mysterious, giant stone spheres - is only now being unravelled by archaeologists.audio_videoPID:b04jvpqjWed, 14 Nov 2018 01:30:00 GMTHank Zipzer / Series 1: 5. Haunted Hankhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pfp9y
Nick McKelty oversteps the mark when he picks on Hank's little sister Emily. To get revenge, Hank decides to make the world's scariest haunted house, with the help of best friends Ashley and Frankie. Meanwhile, at the deli, Rosa grows increasingly infuriated with Halloween-hating Stan and ends up sending him home, where he discovers the flat turned upside down. At first he is furious with Hank, but once he hears about McKelty's bullying behaviour, Stan agrees to work with the kids to give McKelty the scare of his life.audio_videoPID:p01pfp9yTue, 30 Oct 2018 17:00:00 GMTHarriet's Armyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wt7c5
Drama set during World War I. Fourteen-year-old Harriet forms her own army of misfit children to search for spies. When a campaign grows against a local family with German connections, Harriet decides to take drastic action.audio_videoPID:b04wt7c5Sun, 11 Nov 2018 13:10:00 GMTHarriet's Army / Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04dcbm6
Children's drama series set during World War I. From their coastal hideout, the Browns spot lights flashing in the night. Could it be spies? Violet receives a letter, there is a theft from the army supply depot and Harriet has a frightening encounter.audio_videoPID:b04dcbm6Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:30:00 GMTHeir Hunters / Series 12: 15. Ray/Walkerhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bc097k
The death of David Ray reveals how a father and son lived completely separate lives under the same roof for more than 50 years, and Michael Buerk and the heir hunters uncover a fascinating insight into a secretive religious sect. When the team finally track down long-lost relatives, the truth of a family tragedy is revealed, and the heirs are able to make sense of a secretive past.
Meanwhile, the search for the heir to the estate of David Walker reveals astonishing acts of bravery in the face of adversity when a family member is involved in a dangerous rescue mission.audio_videoPID:b0bc097kFri, 16 Nov 2018 04:26:05 GMTHetty Feather / Series 2: 5. Blanchehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gbhwr
Hetty is determined to discover what secret Matron is hiding in the basement.audio_videoPID:b07gbhwrTue, 13 Nov 2018 20:30:00 GMTHolby City / Series 20: 46. Report to the Mirror, Part Twohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brz01f
Unbearable truths emerge as Hanssen faces Gaskell for one last time.
With Gaskell's dastardly invention inside of her, Jac fears for her life - but the only one who can remove this ticking time bomb is the man himself. Can she convince him to try?
Meena throws caution to the wind and outs Gaskell's nefarious deeds, enlisting Essie's help in unravelling his web of lies.audio_videoPID:b0brz01fTue, 13 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTHolding Back the Years / Series 3: Episode 5http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqhzm2
Fiona Phillips and Dr Rangan Chatterjee present a series designed to help people to live longer while increasing the quality of their lives.
This edition comes from Coventry, and asks - with the NHS moving towards rationing more surgery for chronic conditions, is having an operation is a right? We meet the OAP hoarders who are being threatened with eviction, and what lessons can we learn from the country with the longest life expectancy in the world - Japan?audio_videoPID:b0bqhzm2Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:00:00 GMTHome from Home / Series 1: 6. Mandy Rowlandshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b4jjq6
Neil lets slip about an old crush and Fiona is not impressed. Penny and Robert contemplate selling up, and Neil's mum comes clean about her on-site relationship.audio_videoPID:b0b4jjq6Fri, 25 May 2018 21:00:00 GMTHome Front Heroes / Series 1: 6. Compilationhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs748f
Five famous faces discover the vital roles close family members played in Britain's wartime victory, discovering how ordinary men and women did their bit to keep the country safe.
Sue Johnston finds out how nurses like her aunt battled on through the bombing to treat the injured and is touched as her father's work as a volunteer fireman receives long overdue recognition.
Singer Alfie Boe learns how his grandfather helped protect the nation as a member of the Home Guard immortalised in Dad's Army and takes to the seas to discover how fishermen from his home town helped feed a hungry nation.
Tanni Grey-Thompson discovers that her grandfather William's role as an air warden would have brought him face to face with bombs and fires and, as Radzi Chinyanganya explores how his granny took on a vital role to help keep wartime Britain fed, he hears about some of the unsung heroes of the war, including men from the Caribbean who came to work as lumberjacks to keep the home fires burning.
As Helen Lederer uncovers the extraordinary ways in which two of her relatives took on pivotal but highly secretive roles assisting the British intelligence services, she's astonished to learn the true extent of the work of one of them.audio_videoPID:b0bs748fSun, 11 Nov 2018 15:05:00 GMTHomes Under the Hammer / Series 22: Episode 52http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs3041
Dion Dublin is in Birmingham at a property with one of the smallest kitchens he has come across. Martin Roberts visits a former care home in Penmaenmawr, Wales. Martell Maxwell is in St Helens, Merseyside at a house that seems almost too good to be true.audio_videoPID:b0bs3041Thu, 15 Nov 2018 11:00:00 GMTHorizon / 2018: 10. Avalanche: Making a Deadly Snowstormhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bny2mq
In March 2018 an international team of scientists gathered in a remote valley in the Canadian Rockies to conduct a unique experiment - to attempt to see into the heart of a massive avalanche to see if we can find ways to save lives in the future. Avalanches kill hundreds of people every year. Even in the UK 25 people have been killed by these forces of nature since the year 2000. But we know surprisingly little about them - why they happen or how they are able to produce destructive forces so powerful that they can flatten entire villages. Equally disturbing is the fact that climate change means that the pattern of avalanches is changing. They are occurring in places where they have never happened before. Finding out where might be in danger in the future is of vital importance. Answering all these questions could help save lives. The experiment attempts to provide those answers.
The team of experts, gathered from all over the world, includes the programme's presenter Prof Danielle George. Her day job is studying space at Manchester University, but she is also a specialist in the design of experiments. She is even getting personally involved. As part of an experiment to test out safety equipment, Danielle puts on the latest breathing device intended to help you survive being caught in an avalanche. She then agrees to be buried under half a tonne of snow.
The scientists hope to do what no one has ever managed before - to reveal the mysteries of an avalanche's destructive power by finding out what is going on at its very heart. Hitherto, our understanding of avalanches has been based on computer models - but these consistently underestimate the sheer power of these natural phenomena. To try and work out why, the scientists will conduct a range of cutting-edge tests, using the latest technology, including placing a car rigged with sensors right in the path of the avalanche. The plan is to set up the equipment and then unleash the avalanche by dropping explosives near the top of the slope. But the team are in a race against time. They have just three days to rig the mountain before the snow will come down the slope naturally. If they aren't ready in time, all their efforts will be wasted. Even worse, they are working in an active avalanche zone. For some scientists going out on the slopes to install their equipment means risking their lives.
Interwoven with the main experiment are powerful and moving stories from survivors of these violent natural forces. We meet Casey George, whose two children were buried when an avalanche struck the small town of Missoula, Montana, completely out of the blue while they were playing. Their neighbour Fred Allendorf was inside his house when it was completely destroyed. The cataclysm claimed the life of his wife. Missoula had never been struck by an avalanche before. And no one could understand how a well-built house could be utterly demolished.
The film meets British snowboarder Johno Verity, who was being filmed when an avalanche started right underneath him. His story provides clues as to what causes these disasters - a subtle change in the microscopic structure of snow deep beneath the surface. In a unique snow lab, where they can recreate different snow conditions, Danielle discovers exactly how snow can be transformed from something light and fluffy into a potential killer. And there is Elyse Saugstad, an expert skier who, despite years of experience, was caught unawares in an avalanche that killed three of her friends. All these stories emphasise just how unpredictable and devastating these events can be and why we need to understand and so be able to predict them better.
In addition to being buried, Danielle George conducts another experiment into equipment that may help skiers survive being caught in an avalanche. Your chances of living rapidly diminish if you are buried for more than 15 minutes. She conducts a test with an inflatable airbag that is designed to keep you near the surface of an avalanche, making you easier to find.
After two intense days of work by the scientific team, the experiment ends with over 1,000 tonnes of snow rushing down the mountainside. It triggers a whole host of censors and observational equipment. There is then a tense wait for results. But when they come, they are revealing. It seems that the team may have uncovered the first clues to an avalanche's unexplained power. If so, this could one day lead to significant breakthroughs in how we build houses and infrastructure that may lie in an avalanche's path and in how we devise safety equipment for skiers. It could be that this experiment will help save lives in the future.audio_videoPID:b0bny2mqWed, 24 Oct 2018 23:15:00 GMTHorrible Histories / Series 7: 14. Awesome Ancient Civilisations Specialhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b2wr6n
Horrible Histories presents our guide to Ancient Civilizations, featuring new sketches about Alexander the Great's first kiss, Emperor Nero's greatest hits, and how double parking in ancient times could result in being impaled, rather than fined. Also, Swill Gumbitz takes a look at Greek statues, the musical instrument that could make you poo yourself, and the evolution of bottom-wiping.audio_videoPID:b0b2wr6nSun, 04 Nov 2018 16:50:00 GMTHuman Universe / 5. What Is Our Future?http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0276q61
Professor Brian Cox concludes his exploration of our place in the universe by asking what next for the ape that went to space.
In northern Spain, he begins in a cave that was once home to our distant ancestors. Here, he discovers some of the earliest art in the universe - a child's hand painted onto the wall that has remained intact for around 40,000 years. That child - if raised today - would be just as bright and just as capable as any modern child. Yet its vision of the future would be very different to ours.
To understand what sets us apart, Brian heads to the Arctic. In Svalbard, he joins a group of people who are celebrating the midsummer sun. At these latitudes, the sun doesn't set for weeks on end. Brian shows how science is able to precisely predict the future passage of our star in ways our ancestors could not have imagined. The difference is that science has given us a vision of the deep future. It has shown us that we live in a clockwork universe where planets turn around stars in predictable orbits, stars around galaxies and the galaxies themselves are all falling through a probably infinite universe.
But powerful as science is at predicting the motion of the heavens, our future is far from certain. In Florida, Brian joins the latest efforts to protect Earth from potential catastrophic events. He joins a team of Nasa astronauts who are training for a future mission to an asteroid - should we ever discover one coming our way - under 30 feet of water in a submerged laboratory that simulates space. It is just one example of how, for our long-term survival, space exploration may well be vital. It is a view shared by Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, who tells Brian what it was like to escape the confines of the planet. It is a dream that both Nasa and now commercial companies share as they race to get humans back into deep space.
But space travel, like every leap our civilisation has ever made, requires energy. Here too, scientists are hard at work attempting to safeguard our future. At the National Ignition Facility in California, Brian witnesses the world's most successful fusion experiment in action. He believes that if their mission succeeds, our civilisation will have unlocked a way to the stars that will not destroy the planet in the process.
Brian concludes by returning to the top of the world in Svalbard, where he gains access to our civilisation's greatest treasure, locked away in a vault buried deep in the permafrost.audio_videoPID:p0276q61Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTI Can Cook / I Can Cook on the Go: 18. Party Eggs and Party Gameshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p2xx3
Children's cookery programme. Katy and her friends make party eggs and have fun playing party games.audio_videoPID:b01p2xx3Sun, 11 Nov 2018 12:20:00 GMTI Escaped to the Country / Series 3: 10. Northumberlandhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs289z
Alistair Appleton heads to Northumberland to revisit his buyers with a £475,000 budget who have moved into one of the houses he showed them. He discovers how their characterful home has allowed them to kick-start their holiday lettings business ambitions.
As well as getting the inside track on the thriving tourist trade around Hadrian's Wall, Alistair and his escapees head to the Roman fort of Vindolanda, where excavations have revealed exciting archaeological discoveries.audio_videoPID:b0bs289zFri, 16 Nov 2018 15:45:00 GMTThe Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch with Nicholas Parsonshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xtbhr
Nicholas Parsons, Just a Minute host and stalwart of the entertainment world, explores his life-long enthusiasm for clocks when he goes in search of the most valuable and famous watch in the world.
The so called Marie Antoinette, once the target of one of the biggest museum heists in history, was the masterpiece made by 18th-century genius Nicholas Breguet for that doomed queen.
Tracing the enthralling story of Breguet's rise to fame, Parsons visits Paris and Versailles, and the vaults of today's multimillion-pound Breguet business. Exploring the innovative and dazzling work of the master watchmaker, Parsons unravels the mystery behind the creation of his most precious and most brilliant work.
Parsons heads to Israel to discover how in the 1980s the world's most expensive watch was then stolen in a daring heist, and went missing for over 20 years.
Revealing a little-known side of one of our favourite TV and radio hosts, the film offers a glimpse into Parsons's own private clock collection, whilst also telling an enthralling tale of scientific invention, doomed decadence and daring robbery.audio_videoPID:b07xtbhrFri, 02 Nov 2018 02:30:00 GMTInformer / Series 1: 6. The Masterplanhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06lhrf9
The terrorist cell is exposed and the final tragic details surrounding the attack on Cafe 66 are revealed. The fallout from these catastrophic events and the revelations that follow change the lives of all those involved forever.audio_videoPID:p06lhrf9Tue, 16 Oct 2018 20:12:00 GMTInside No. 9 / Series 1: 6. The Harrowinghttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03y7n5p
Ordinarily, Hector and Tabitha never go out as they have to look after their disabled elder brother. But tonight's event is so special that they are going to need a carer. And Katy's not going to turn down £88, is she?audio_videoPID:b03y7n5pSat, 13 Oct 2018 22:45:00 GMTInside Obama's White House / 3. Don't Screw It Uphttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0760yhq
Episode three explores how Barack Obama set out to end George Bush's wars in the Middle East and reset relations with the rest of the world. In Cairo he speaks to the Arab world, calling democracy a human right. Two years later when protest erupts in Tahrir Square, the president is torn between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Robert Gates, who believe Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak provides regional stability, and his young advisors, who are in tune with the promise of the Arab Spring. Before long, a similar test arises in Libya, Hillary Clinton changes her position to back military intervention and Obama agrees to join allies in airstrikes against Colonel Gaddafi.
In Syria, when shocking evidence shows the use of chemical weapons, Obama decides to bomb. But when the British Parliament votes against intervention, he decides he needs the backing of a reluctant Congress. Foreign secretary William Hague explains why the British parliament voted against intervention in 2013 and President Obama explains why he then decided to seek the backing of Congress.
This episode also explores how Obama scored a big win when he negotiated a secret deal to end the nuclear threat from Iran - behind the backs of his closest allies. Secretary of state John Kerry tells how he worked through the night, with President Obama on the phone, to secure the outlines of the deal.audio_videoPID:b0760yhqMon, 19 Nov 2018 00:50:00 GMTInside the Factory / Series 2: 3. Baked Beanshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07nwlvg
Gregg Wallace helps to unload 27 tonnes of dried haricot beans from North America and follows them on a one-and-a-half-mile journey through the largest baked bean factory in the world, which makes more than three million cans of beans every 24 hours. Gregg discovers how a laser scrutinises every single bean, how the spice recipe for the sauce is a classified secret known only by two people, and, most surprisingly, how the beans are cooked in the can in a room of giant pressure cookers - not baked at all!
Meanwhile, Cherry Healey follows the journey of her discarded baked bean can through a recycling centre and on to the largest steelworks in the UK, where she watches a dramatic, fiery process that produces 320 tonnes of molten steel - enough to make eight million cans. She also takes a can that is 14 months after its best before date to a lab at the University of Coventry and is amazed when tests reveal it has the same Vitamin C levels compared to fresh tomatoes. The lab also prove that a 45-year-old tin of Skippers is still fit to eat.
And historian Ruth Goodman reveals that in the early 19th century, malnutrition killed more than half of all British seamen, and how tinned food was invented to improve their nutrition and prevent them developing scurvy on their long voyages at sea. Ruth also relates how Henry Heinz first marketed baked beans in the UK in the early 1900s and made them a family favourite. Today, we get through more than two million cans of them every day.audio_videoPID:b07nwlvgWed, 31 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTBacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of Ecstasyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09z8d01
Professor Bettany Hughes investigates the story of Bacchus, god of wine, revelry, theatre and excess, travelling to Georgia, Jordan, Greece and Britain to discover his origins and his presence in the modern world, and explore how 'losing oneself' plays a vital role in the development of civilisation.
In this fascinating journey, Bettany begins in Georgia where she discovers evidence of the world's oldest wine production, and the role it may have played in building communities. In Athens, she reveals Bacchus's pivotal role in a society where his ecstatic worship was embraced by all classes, and most importantly women. On Cyprus, she uncovers startling parallels between Bacchus and Christ. Finally, Bettany follows the god's modern embrace in Nietzsche's philosophy, experimental theatre and the hedonistic hippie movement to conclude that, while this god of ecstasy is worthy of contemporary reconsideration, it is vital to heed the warning of the ancients - 'MEDEN AGAN' - nothing in excess.audio_videoPID:b09z8d01Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:30:00 GMTBack in Time for the Factory / Series 1: Episode 5http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bmg8yn
In this final episode, original factory girls give first-hand accounts of their experiences on the factory floor, at the kitchen sink and on raucous nights out. The women speak of terrifying bosses, everyday sexism, union battles, camaraderie and of lifelong friendships forged on the production line. With Wales-born presenter Alex Jones guiding us through this most important chapter in industrial history, the programme also shows how the factory was lovingly brought back to life using the testimony of those original factory girls as inspiration.
The women's real-life stories are grounded in the south Wales valleys where female factory workers were poorly paid, unfairly treated and denied basic rights. In the 60s and early 70s it was perfectly legal for women to be paid less than men, to be sacked when they were pregnant and to be denied the right to apply for the same jobs as men. But women fought back and when the female workers at Ford Dagenham walked out demanding equal pay, they set in motion a fight for equal pay in factories across Britain.
The original factory girls share their memories of starting work at the factories- often swapping the school gates for the factory floor at the age of 15. A job in the factory gave the teenagers the freedom and wages they'd never had. But as they grew in experience and became skilled seamstresses they realised they were being treated as second-class citizens, often working in harsh conditions and earning much less than their male counterparts. There was little equality at home too - once the shift was over, it would be time to go home to make the tea. But there was also a lot of fun to be had in the factory. The long hours, sitting side by side on the production line, gave the women a strong sense of camaraderie and they forged friendships that would last a lifetime.
But then came the 80s - while conditions had improved and the fight for equality was starting to pay off, the clothing industry came under serious threat with the loss government subsidies and the economic pressures of globalisation. The original factory girls share their devastation at seeing their livelihood and whole way of life come to an end. This programme is an opportunity to hear the voices of the unsung heroes who achieved so much in the fight for women's rights.audio_videoPID:b0bmg8ynThu, 04 Oct 2018 20:00:00 GMTBargain Hunt / Series 51: 18. Detling 19http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsvwbl
Bargain Hunt comes from the Kent County Showground in Detling. Charlie Ross leads proceedings and experts Catherine Southon and Mark Stacey help the reds and blues spend £300 on three items which, fingers crossed, will make a profit at the auction. Plus Charlie finds out more about the Kent explorer Julius Brenchely.audio_videoPID:b0bsvwblMon, 19 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMTThe Big Painting Challenge / Series 2: Finalhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b2n3g1
It is the final, and the four remaining artists travel to the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, to battle it out for the title. The first task requires them to take a good, hard look at themselves as they take on self-portraits.
As always, Diana Ali and Pascal Anson are on hand with moral support and tips, advice and useful critiques to continue to improve the painters' work. They want their artists' paintings to really take on personality and character, not just to create a likeness. To bolster the finalists, a little added support is provided with the surprise arrival of family members to help critique their portraits.
Following the task the painters are given individual masterclasses to help them work on areas the mentors think could make a difference in the final challenge. They involve painting with decorator rollers, eating and then painting cake, painting blindfolded and painting with dance movements. Each of these makes the artists think about new ways of connecting with their canvas.
The final day dawns and the artists face the ultimate challenge. For the first time they are allowed to choose any subject they want. They have three hours to use everything they have been taught over the last six weeks to create a painting that will decide the winner of the Big Painting Challenge 2018.audio_videoPID:b0b2n3g1Mon, 19 Nov 2018 07:30:00 GMTBing / 78. Showhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w8m0d
'If you get shy then your friends can help you.'
Bing and his friends put on a show in the park. After Coco's dance, Pando's song and Sula's acrobatics display, everyone is excited to see Bing's finale. When he gets up on the stage, Bing is overcome with stage fright, so his friends and rainbow fairy mice come to the rescue.audio_videoPID:b05w8m0dMon, 22 Oct 2018 08:35:00 GMTBitz & Bob / Series 2: 21. Gripping Yarnhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bhrmd6
Bob, or Big Bad Robo Wolf, showing just how bad he is, locks Ra-Purl-Zel in the castle tower. While Purl is busily knitting, Bitz and Sir Bevel try to engineer a way to rescue her. Sir Bevel tries first but ends up stuck inside the tower alongside Purl. Bitz now has to rescue them both by working out how to get enough balls of yarn up to Ra-Purl-Zel so she can knit an escape ladder. Which means convincing Big Bad Robo Wolf and his naughty wolflets to help her build an awesome 'padoinger'.audio_videoPID:b0bhrmd6Sun, 28 Oct 2018 14:55:00 GMTBlack Earth Rising / Series 1: 8. The Forgiving Earthhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqqm25
In Rwanda, Alice Munezero languishes in custody. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kate fights against hostile locals as well as international forces to prove the truth of her personal history. Meanwhile in London, Michael delves into a deep political and financial conspiracy. Can he expose this in time, while Kate fights for her very life in an explosive climax?audio_videoPID:b0bqqm25Mon, 29 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTBlack Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us' / Series 1: 3. Black is the New Hollywoodhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqmxg1
This episode picks up the story in the post Black Panther era, where black movies are no longer seen as a genre and black filmmakers are no longer seen as non-bankable. In an era where Moonlight won Best Picture and the director of Get Out won Best Original Screenplay, the number of award winners and nominees is steadily growing. But amongst these winners there is a generation of British stars following in the footsteps of Steve McQueen, director of 12 Years a Slave, who have left Britain. Theirs is a generation led by the likes of David Oyelowo and John Boyega growing in influence and leading the invasion of bankable black British stars to Hollywood.audio_videoPID:b0bqmxg1Sat, 27 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTThe Blue Planet / 8. Coastshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074mn1
David Attenborough narrates a natural history of the oceans, examining the use animals from in and around the sea make of the constantly changing areas where land meets water.
From the open oceans, millions of sea birds are forced to come into land to breed. Sea eagles steal kittiwake chicks from their nesting ledges. Turtles lay their eggs in the sand and marine mammals haul themselves out to fight on the beaches. Sea lions emerge from the kelp to give birth, while killer whales come crashing in on the surf to snatch the sea lion's young.audio_videoPID:b0074mn1Thu, 04 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMTBlue Planet II / Series 1: 7. Our Blue Planethttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jbn5f
While making Blue Planet II, we have explored parts of the ocean that nobody has been to before, encountered extraordinary animals and discovered new insights into how life thrives beneath the waves. But we have also witnessed the profound effects of human activity. The oceans are changing faster and in more ways than at any point in human history and now, for the first time, we understand why.
In this final episode, we uncover the impact that our modern lives are having on our best-loved characters from across the series, including devoted albatross parents unwittingly feeding their chicks discarded plastic and mother dolphins potentially exposing their newborn calves to pollutants through their contaminated milk. Scientists have even discovered that increasing noise levels may stop baby clownfish finding their way home.
Many creatures are struggling to survive in today's oceans, and some changes in the ocean will require a global effort. While filming the stunning corals on the Great Barrier Reef's remote Lizard Island, the film crew witnessed a catastrophe. Warmer than normal seas caused the biggest coral bleaching event in human history, killing about 90 per cent of the branching corals at Lizard Island.
But the warming ocean could have an even more devastating effect. We travel to Antarctica on a unique expedition to discover how melting polar ice sheets could one day impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Yet, despite these devastating impacts, there is hope. Every year, billions of herring overwinter in the icy seas off Norway, but just 50 years ago they were almost wiped out by overfishing. Today, thanks to careful regulation, they have returned, creating one of the greatest spectacles in the ocean. Hundreds of giant humpback whales and one of the greatest gatherings of orcas on the planet feast on the herring - an extraordinary story of recovery.
Around the world, individuals are also making a huge difference to the future of the ocean. In the Galapagos, one scientist has devoted much of his life to saving the largest fish in the sea - the whale shark. He is using the latest technology to unlock one of the ocean's biggest mysteries - where these elusive giants may give birth.
In the Caribbean, a community is reversing the fortune of giant leatherback turtles. Their numbers have dropped dramatically, by up to 90 per cent in some parts of the world, but here, volunteers are risking their lives to get turtle poachers to put down their weapons and instead protect the beach where these magnificent creatures nest. Through these valiant efforts, theirs is now one of the densest leatherback nesting beaches in the world.audio_videoPID:b09jbn5fThu, 04 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMTBobbyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brjn47
A film uncovering the truth behind Bobby Moore, the man who led the England football team to victory at the 1966 World Cup.
A deeply personal portrait of a football icon who died tragically young, with rare archive footage and contributions from his family, friends and fans.audio_videoPID:b0brjn47Sun, 04 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTBodyguard / Series 1: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bls8pr
Principal Protection Officer David Budd has made a major breakthrough in the investigation into the attack on the home secretary, but his enquiries have put him in mortal danger. With the clock ticking and no-one left who believes him, David attempts to prove his innocence. But the evidence against him begins to stack up.audio_videoPID:b0bls8prSun, 23 Sep 2018 21:15:00 GMTBritain's Best Home Cook / Series 1: 8. The Finalhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b6ttgj
Claudia Winkleman presents the series looking for Britain's best home cook. It's the final and Mary Berry, Dan Doherty and Chris Bavin raise the bar for the last time for the three remaining cooks before one of them is crowned the winner. They will have to excel in all three challenges that count towards the final decision and determine the overall winner.
First it's the recipe challenge when the cooks must follow the recipe to the letter. The judges have chosen a summer classic and picnic favourite that requires precision, care and skill. Next it's the cooks' challenge which tests the cooks' inventiveness and creativity with a key ingredient. This time the judges are not offering a choice but instead the finalists must make a dish that showcases chicken and mushrooms and create a dish in one hour. Then the cooks have three hours to prepare their ultimate main and pudding. They'll also have to set their tables and play the host with just Claudia as back-up when serving. The judges must then make their final decision and crown one of them the winner.audio_videoPID:b0b6ttgjThu, 14 Jun 2018 20:00:00 GMTBritain's Fat Fight with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall / Series 1: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b2x6d8
In this episode, Hugh learns that there are some simple and obvious changes which could be made to GPs surgeries that could help prevent obesity-related diseases - like putting weighing scales in every GP waiting room and making it mandatory to weigh every patient before they see the doctor. Hugh arranges a trial in Bristol, with dramatic results.
In Newcastle, Hugh meets Janet, who signed up to Newcastle Can but is finding it difficult to lose any weight. Hugh wants to see if she can make changes to her lifestyle by getting outside of her comfort zone, so they head to the beach to go surfing. At the end of Hugh's year-long mission to put the city on a diet, he meets up with some of the people who have already achieved life-changing weight loss and discovers if his ambitious 100,000lb target has been reached.
To learn what the government is doing about the situation, Hugh heads to the Conservative Party Conference, where he has been invited to speak about obesity - but he is frustrated in his attempts to get an audience with Jeremy Hunt. So with the help of Jamie Oliver, Hugh comes up with a bold plan to try and improve the health of our nation once and for all.audio_videoPID:b0b2x6d8Mon, 19 Nov 2018 17:11:46 GMTBritain's Forgotten Slave Owners / 2. The Price of Freedomhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b063jzdw
Historian David Olusoga continues his examination of Britain's forgotten slave owners. In this episode, David explores how in 1834 the government arrived at the extraordinary decision to compensate the slave owners with the equivalent of £17 billion in today's money. Tracing the bitter propaganda war waged between the pro-slavery lobby and the abolitionists, he reveals that paying off the slave owners for the loss of their human property was, ultimately, the only way to bring the system to an end.
Meticulously kept records held at the National Archives detail the names of the 46,000 slave owners from across the British empire who had a slice of this vast handout. Combined with new research, shared exclusively with the BBC by University College London, it reveals more about Britain's slave owners than we've ever known before.
Of the 46,000 names in the 1834 compensation records, 3,000 lived in Britain, yet they owned half of the slaves across the empire and pocketed half of the compensation money. These include members of the clergy and of the House of Lords. The records also show that at the point of abolition, more than 40 per cent of all the slave owners were women.
David goes on to investigate what happened to the wealth generated by the slave system and compensation pay out. He reveals aspects of Britain's spectacular industrialisation in the 19th century, the consolidation of the City of London as a world centre of finance, and a number of the country's most well-known institutions that all have links to slave-derived wealth.
Ultimately, David discovers that the country's debt to slavery is far greater than previously thought, shaping everything from the nation's property landscape to its ideas about race. A legacy that can still be felt today.audio_videoPID:b063jzdwThu, 25 Oct 2018 23:00:00 GMTBritain's Great War / Original Series: 4. At the Eleventh Hourhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03w46r4
Jeremy Paxman describes how the country came to the very brink of defeat in the last year of the war. Grieving parents held seances to contact their dead sons, surgeons battled to rebuild the faces of the wounded, and a maverick MP tried to pin the blame for the crisis on a conspiracy of sexual deviants in government.
And then, dramatically, the tide of battle turned, and exhausted Britons found themselves weeping for joy as the armistice was signed. The nation began to count the cost of four years of war, revealing some surprising winners as well as losers.audio_videoPID:b03w46r4Thu, 08 Nov 2018 16:10:36 GMTBritain's Lost Masterpieces / Series 2: 1. Glasgowhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096m6nx
Pollok House is a country house right in the middle of a Glasgow city park, bordered on one side by the M77 and on the other side by the south side of Glasgow. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and looked after by the National Trust for Scotland. It truly is a house for the people, surrounded by the people. As well as an excellent tea room, Pollok has an impressive collection of Spanish art, the legacy of the man who once owned the house, Sir William Stirling-Maxwell. Unfortunately, some of Pollok's treasures have been placed in storage due to a leaking roof and urgent renovations. But could one of these displaced pictures be a priceless work, lost for centuries, hiding north of the border? It would be international news if it was.
Dr Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri travel to Glasgow to investigate a long lost picture of one of the most famous gay men in history, possibly painted by one of the most famous artists in history. The subject of the painting is none other than George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was the gay lover of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). But how did he end up in Glasgow? While Bendor squares up to a rival portrait in Florence which claims to be the real Buckingham portrait, Emma finds that William Stirling-Maxwell had a secret family in Jamaica and that sugar and tobacco built Glasgow long before shipbuilding was its major industry.audio_videoPID:b096m6nxWed, 14 Nov 2018 00:30:00 GMTBritain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Timehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07myxws
Professor Alice Roberts joins the team excavating a 3,000-year-old Bronze Age village in the Cambridgeshire Fens that has been called the British Pompeii.
The village earned its nickname because 3,000 years ago it burned to the ground, and as it burned it fell into the peat, preserving both the houses and their contents. Until its discovery, we had little real idea of what life was like in Bronze Age Britain.
Now we can peek inside our Bronze Age ancestors' homes as archaeologists discover perfectly preserved roundhouses, and the contents inside them - right down to the utensils in their kitchens. These roundhouses were built in a style never seen in the UK before - testimony not only to the villagers' technical skills, but also of their connections to Europe.
The team has made other incredible discoveries on the dig - from Britain's oldest-found wheel, to swords used in battle, and bowls still containing preserved remnants of food. One of the biggest revelations is the discovery of a complete set of the early technology used to produce cloth - a full industrial process we've never seen in Britain before.
This glimpse into domestic life 3,000 years ago is unprecedented, but it also transforms our impressions of Bronze Age Britain - far from being poor and isolated, it seems the villagers were successful large-scale farmers who used their farming surplus to trade with Europe, exchanging their crops for beautiful glass jewellery and multiple metal tools per household.
As part of the dig, the archaeologists also investigate the cause of the fire - was it just a terrible accident, or did the villagers' wealth provoke an attack?audio_videoPID:b07myxwsThu, 08 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTBritain's Ultimate Pilots: Inside the RAF / Episode 4http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nw0kj
The RAF's spectacular summer display season continues apace as the Red Arrows continue to battle the great British weather. Will their luck change? Meanwhile, as the mighty Typhoon jet struts its stuff over the beautiful Bournemouth coastline, how will the pilots cope with the most shocking news of the summer?audio_videoPID:b06nw0kjSat, 10 Nov 2018 16:30:00 GMTCasualty / Series 33: Episode 13http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsscjh
Dylan and Ciara make their escape. Will they finally get their happily ever after?audio_videoPID:b0bsscjhSat, 17 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTThe Dumping Ground / Series 6: 21. Joyless Divisionhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs47qb
Life in the DG is about to change as Steven Redpen arrives announcing an experiment to split the boys and girls into separate areas of the house. As the trial underway, the YP begin to enjoy their new spaces but the honeymoon period doesn't last and they soon realise it's not the same. With Redpen trying to break them up, the YP must unite together to prove that boys and girls shouldn't be separated. After an act of defiance Steven Redpen makes the move a permanent one and the YP face a home without the other half unless Redpen can be shown otherwise.audio_videoPID:b0bs47qbFri, 09 Nov 2018 17:00:00 GMTDumping Ground Islandhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jy84q
The YP pile their problems on Tyler's shoulders, and rather than face them, Tyler escapes to his safe place, his desert island. His perfect paradise is soon short-lived when the other YP arrive. Tyler retreats once more, but realises the YP must work together and face their fears in order to get home. Ryan sees a chance to gain power as Floss, Sasha and Dexter face their fears.audio_videoPID:b09jy84qTue, 23 Oct 2018 08:50:00 GMTThe Dumping Ground Survival Files / Series 2: 1. Teamworkhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v8ntf
The Dumping Ground gang make video blogs as a helpful guide for new arrivals. Mo's video blog to help Dumping Ground newbies is about how teamwork is the best way to get results, but Bailey is not convinced.audio_videoPID:b04v8ntfFri, 09 Nov 2018 13:10:00 GMTDynasties / Series 1: 2. Emperorhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06mvqjc
A colony of emperor penguins gather in Atka Bay, on the coast of Antarctica, after three months of feeding at sea. They arrive as the water freezes over and all the other Antarctic animals have left the continent for the relative safety of the sea. The penguins have come here to raise the next generation in their emperor's dynasty. But to do so they will have to work together to keep themselves and their chicks alive through the coming winter - the coldest and cruellest on earth.audio_videoPID:p06mvqjcSun, 18 Nov 2018 19:55:00 GMTEastEnders / 19/11/2018http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsqzsx
Tina desperately tries to get through to Linda. Kat learns an upsetting truth. Ruby tries to move forward.audio_videoPID:b0bsqzsxMon, 19 Nov 2018 20:30:00 GMTEgon Schiele: Dangerous Desireshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0brzkrh
Struck down by the Spanish Flu in 1918, aged just 28, in his short life Egon Schiele created over 3,000 drawings and paintings, self-portraits and nudes. An agent provocateur of the modernist era, he was a taboo-busting rebel whose art looks like it was made yesterday - self-obsessed, exhibitionist and unafraid to confront questions of sexuality and identity.
To mark the anniversary of Schiele's death a century ago, this film tells Schiele's dramatic story in his own words, using original letters and writings - many of them translated for the first time. The film celebrates his remarkable artistic achievements but also debates the controversies around his work.
His sexually frank images shocked early 20th-century Vienna and still challenge us today. But are these the images of empowered women in control - or figures of voyeurism? And how do we view his images of young girls from our modern perspective? Schiele didn't just make groundbreaking art; he was also a new kind of artist, carefully crafting his own myth, pioneering the notion of the artist as personality and performer in a way that would influence generations of other cultural trailblazers.
With contributions from Iggy Pop, Lily Cole and Jake Chapman, and visually striking dramatic reconstructions choreographed by acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko, the film conjures up the passionate, provocative world of Egon Schiele.audio_videoPID:b0brzkrhSat, 10 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTElizabeth I's Secret Agents / Series 1: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09fb54t
King James of Scotland travels south to take the throne at the invitation of Robert Cecil. Meanwhile, John Gerard, a Catholic priest who has dedicated his life to the destruction of the Protestant state that developed in Elizabeth's England, has escaped and made contact with a splinter cell in the Catholic underground containing an extremist called Guy Fawkes, who has a plan to blow up parliament with the king inside.
Cecil hears about the gunpowder plot, but is unaware of when and how they will strike, and his investigation is hampered as he's also trying to manage King James, who has a wildly ambitious idea of unifying Scotland and England in a new kingdom of Great Britain.audio_videoPID:b09fb54tSat, 03 Nov 2018 19:30:00 GMTEmpire / 5. Doing Goodhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01f1nhl
In the final part of his personal account of Britain's empire, Jeremy Paxman tells the extraordinary story of how a desire for conquest became a mission to improve the rest of mankind, especially in Africa, and how that mission shaded into an unquestioning belief that Britain could - and should - rule the world.
In central Africa, he travels in the footsteps of David Livingstone who, though a failure as a missionary, became a legendary figure - the patron saint of empire who started a flood of missionaries to the so-called 'Dark Continent'.
In South Africa, Paxman tells the story of Cecil Rhodes, a man with a different sort of mission, who believed in the white man's right to rule the world, laying down the foundations for apartheid.
The journey ends in Kenya, where conflict between white settlers and the African population brought bloodshed, torture and eventual withdrawal.audio_videoPID:b01f1nhlWed, 24 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTEscape to the Country / Series 19: 9. Shropshirehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsq3r6
Jonnie Irwin is in the Shropshire countryside, helping a couple with a £335,000 budget to find a rural family home closer to loved ones. Exploring more of the county's bricks and mortar, Jonnie also visits the recently restored 18th-century walled garden at Apley Estate, where he samples freshly grown culinary delights.audio_videoPID:b0bsq3r6Mon, 19 Nov 2018 15:45:00 GMTFamily Cooking Showdown / Series 2: Episode 14http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqqztr
It is the grand final of the competitive food show that celebrates the families who make ordinary food extraordinary. Over the last two and a half weeks, 16 family teams have battled it out in the Showdown studio kitchen. Facing a series of challenges based on the realities of family cooking, they have tried their best to impress judges Angellica Bell - herself a Celebrity Masterchef winner - and Tommy Banks - Britain's youngest ever Michelin-starred chef. Now only two families remain.
It is the final showdown. Each family must create a three-course extravaganza fit for the most special of family celebrations, with canapes to start, two main courses and two puddings. Tension mounts between family members as they strive for perfection. But who will win the Family Showdown title?audio_videoPID:b0bqqztrFri, 02 Nov 2018 20:00:00 GMTFeud: Bette and Joan / Series 1: 8. You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05ll6fl
In 1969, Joan is living in Manhattan and gets a call from her agent, who advises her against appearing in a low-budget British feature, provisionally called The Missing Link. But Joan needs the money, so she arrives in London to film the retitled Trog. In the meantime, Bette has kept working and according to her friend Victor Buono, snatched up everything and lost her high standards.
Both actresses reflect on what might have been.audio_videoPID:p05ll6flSun, 21 Oct 2018 23:20:00 GMTThe Fires that Foretold Grenfellhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqjp75
This 60-minute documentary is the dramatic, haunting story of five fires that foretold the Grenfell disaster, told through the eyes of those directly involved. This vivid and moving film for BBC Two collates the memories of survivors, the bereaved, firefighters, safety experts and the politicians linked to five intensely fierce fire disasters that preceded Grenfell. This telling collection of interviews and archive footage shows the clear warnings that existed and could have predicted a Grenfell-type inferno happening in Britain.
The programme focuses on three factors: the application of flammable material and cladding to buildings, the 'stay put' advice given by fire services, the absence of sprinklers - and how they contributed to each of the previous five blazes, sometimes with fatal consequences. Made over the course of 12 months, the film tells the story of the legislative history of building regulations from 1973 to the present day through five fires. It explores the causes, subsequent investigations and the recommendations that were sent to successive UK governments, ultimately posing the question: if lessons had been learned as a result of tragic repetition of errors over the decades, could Grenfell have been avoided?
The five fires revisited include the Summerland disaster, Douglas, Isle of Man (1973), Knowsley Heights fire, Liverpool (1991), Garnock Court fire, Irvine, N Ayrshire (1999), Harrow Court fire, Stevenage, Herts (2005), and Lakanal House, London (2009).audio_videoPID:b0bqjp75Tue, 30 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTThe First World War from Abovehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vyrzh
Fergal Keane tells the story of the World War One from a unique new aerial perspective. Featuring two remarkable historical finds, including a piece of archive footage filmed from an airship in summer 1919, capturing the trenches and battlefields in a way that has rarely been seen before. It also features aerial photographs taken by First World War pilots - developed for the first time in over 90 years - that show not only the devastation inflicted during the fighting, but also quirks and human stories visible only from above.audio_videoPID:b00vyrzhSun, 04 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTThe Furchester Hotel / Series 2: 51. A Pumpkin's Halloweenhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09czqtz
It's Halloween at the Furchester Hotel and the hotel pumpkin is in his rightful place on the front desk, ready to great all the trick or treaters with his cheery "Happy Halloween!" Elmo and Phoebe are going trick or treating around the hotel dressed as a two-headed monster. Elmo is excited because he has never been trick or treating in a hotel before. He asks if the pumpkin has but the pumpkin says he's never been trick or treating anywhere before. Phoebe has an idea: the pumpkin should go trick or treating with them. But someone will have to take over the pumpkin's role at the front desk.audio_videoPID:b09czqtzSat, 27 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMTGallipoli: When Murdoch Went to Warhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05sz6s6
'My father shook up the establishment', claims Rupert Murdoch in this hour-long special that tells the true story behind the Gallipoli letter written in September 1915 by a young Australian journalist - Keith Murdoch.
According to journalistic legend, Keith Murdoch's letter toppled a general, shook a government and ended the bloodbath that was Gallipoli, one of the most infamous calamities of World War I. But the truth is far more complex.
With interviews and testimony from Rupert Murdoch, Sir Max Hastings, Sir Hew Strachan and other experts, plus dramatic reconstructions based on Keith Murdoch's own writings, the documentary tells the story of a young, ambitious journalist who visits the killing fields of Gallipoli and becomes embroiled in a scheme to evade the military censor. But when top-brass generals, cabinet ministers and press barons get involved, the scene is set for a political struggle in which reputations are destroyed, careers are made and the foundations for a new journalistic empire are laid.audio_videoPID:b05sz6s6Thu, 15 Nov 2018 02:30:00 GMTGarden Rescue / Series 1: 13. Favershamhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07md7p8
Charlie Dimmock and the Rich brothers compete to design a garden in Faversham for Stan and Gloria, whose cherished front garden was washed away in a landslide. Confronted with a barren wasteland and an enormous amount of tarmac, our designers compete for a £1,500 budget to restore what was once a magical front garden to its former glory.
Includes some clever ideas for disguising eyesores, such as when the designers plant a living screen and indulge in some ingenious upcycling.audio_videoPID:b07md7p8Sun, 18 Nov 2018 16:15:00 GMTGreat War Horseshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b094f4tl
The horses that provided the backbone of the Australian Light Horse regiments in World War I were popularly known as Walers. Bred for Australia's tough Outback conditions, Walers were well-equipped for the harsh climate and terrain of the Middle East, where the ANZAC forces faced the armies of the Ottoman Empire.
Great War Horses is a powerful, moving account of the men and horses of the Australian Light Horse and the pivotal role they played in World War I at the Battle of Romani (1916), the celebrated Light Horse charge at the Battle of Beersheba (1917) and the capture of Damascus in 1918.audio_videoPID:b094f4tlTue, 13 Nov 2018 23:30:00 GMTGudrun: The Viking Princess / Series 2: 6. Ospreyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06m5ytr
Gudrun and her friends are out with the King's bowman, when Gudrun spots a huge bird swooping over the water. They follow it up through the forest to the highest heights where the bowman shows them how to build a nest like an osprey.audio_videoPID:p06m5ytrSat, 20 Oct 2018 05:00:00 GMTThe Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure / Series 1: 4. Japan - Tokyohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xg6t9
Japanese is the Hairy Bikers' all-time favourite food and they fulfil a lifetime's ambition to visit this incredible country.
Si finds himself a bit lost in translation at a manga cafe when he has to wear kitty ears. Dave and Si discover the ultimate sushi at Tokyo's famous fish market and have the rare privilege of spending time in a sumo stable, where they take part in a wrestling bout.audio_videoPID:b03xg6t9Sun, 04 Nov 2018 12:30:00 GMTThe Hairy Bikers' Comfort Food / Series 1: 1. Cosy Suppershttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087xnsk
The Bikers cook dishes perfect for cosy suppers - comfort straight from the oven, whether for sharing every day or for a special treat. They present a new take on classic steak and chips, plus a sticky gingerbread that has to be the ultimate in comfort baking.audio_videoPID:b087xnskMon, 19 Nov 2018 16:30:00 GMTNatural World / 2016-2017: 2. Nature's Perfect Partnershttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b078cyg3
In the animal kingdom, what do you do if you've got an itch you can't scratch, food you can't get your teeth into or you simply need some home security? Well, you find yourself a partner - and not necessarily someone like you!
Hippos are joining forces with fish for a full-body exfoliation. Ravens are inviting wolverines to dinner for some bone-crunching assistance. Bill Bailey introduces these and so many more extraordinary partnerships found in nature.audio_videoPID:b078cyg3Fri, 26 Oct 2018 14:45:00 GMTNew Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands / 3. New Arrivalshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07n2hmt
New Zealand was one of the last land masses to be found and settled by people. Lush and fertile, almost everything brought here flourishes, often with surprising consequences.
Told through the experiences of its native species - in particular, a charismatic and peculiar giant, flightless parrot - this is the moving story of the changing fortunes of New Zealand's wildlife since humans first arrived.audio_videoPID:b07n2hmtTue, 30 Oct 2018 22:00:00 GMTOctonauts / Octonauts Special: Operation Deep Freezehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06srvg4
Captain Barnacles runs into an old friend - an arctic fox named Professor Natquik - in Antarctica. They must work together to prevent a group of penguins from falling into an ice chasm.audio_videoPID:b06srvg4Sat, 03 Nov 2018 09:55:00 GMTOdd Squad / Series 1: 70. Disorder in the Court Part Twohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ps96c
In this two-part episode, Olive is put on trial for causing oddness.audio_videoPID:b07ps96cFri, 16 Nov 2018 13:40:00 GMTOlobob Top / Series 1: 52. Newshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bdq07s
Norbet is creating a newspaper, but nobody's news is exciting enough. The Olobobs create Ed, who reminds them they can all make exciting news with just a few sheets of paper.audio_videoPID:b0bdq07sMon, 29 Oct 2018 09:05:00 GMTOperation Gold Rush with Dan Snow / Series 1: 1. Mountain Passeshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0824c97
In an epic adventure, historian Dan Snow follows in the footsteps of the 19th century's last great gold rush - a journey filled with genuine danger and thrilling beauty. Leading a one-month expedition, he is joined by polar explorer Felicity Aston and remote environment medic Dr Kevin Fong. Their goal - to strike gold in Canada's frozen wilderness.
They attempt to retrace a gruelling 600-mile journey through one of the world's last great wildernesses. It takes them from the coast of Alaska to the gold fields of the Klondike, a remote region on the edge of the Canadian arctic. It is a journey first undertaken by tens of thousands of gold seekers - men and women from around the globe who in the last years of the 19th century dropped everything and set off for the Klondike in the hope of striking it rich. So great were the hardships they encountered that only one in three of those who set off ever made it there. Now, Dan and his team are reliving those struggles and experiences in the hunt for their own gold.
In this first episode, Dan and his team take on the Alaskan Coastal Mountains, a wall of snow and rock blocking their way to the Klondike and its gold. Following the routes used by the Klondikers, they split up to experience two very different gold rush journeys. As they begin their journey to the gold fields, they have to cross icy rivers, avalanche prone slopes and climb a near vertical icy ascent.audio_videoPID:b0824c97Sat, 17 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTOperation Ouch! / Goes Back in Timehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d8l2z
Dr Chris and Dr Xand turn back the clock and look at what medicine was like in the First World War. They meet a Paralympian runner who swaps her awesome blade for a World War I leather leg, and they look at the little critters that infested the trenches. Then they set up a massive experiment to demonstrate how soldiers' bodies had to cope with the pressures exerted by huge explosions.audio_videoPID:b04d8l2zSun, 11 Nov 2018 11:00:00 GMTOrigins of Us / 3. Brainshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00jjjyz
Dr Alice Roberts explores how our species, Homo sapiens, developed its large brain and asks why humans are the only ape of its kind left on the planet today.
The evolution of the human mind is one of the greatest mysteries. It is the basis of religion, philosophy and science. We are special because of our extraordinary brains, and to understand why we think and act the way we do, we need to look at where and why our brains evolved.
The Rift Valley in Kenya is thought to be the crucible of human evolution, and here Alice examines the fossils in our family tree which reveal our brains have more than quadrupled in size since our ancestors split from chimpanzees. Research investigating sediments and rocks laid down during the period of greatest brain growth suggests a fluctuating environment may have played a part. Drawing on research on social politics in chimpanzees, the cognitive development of children and the tools that have been found littered across the Rift Valley, Alice explores how and why our ancestors brains became so big.
Successive species of increasingly large-brained humans migrated around the world - from Homo erectus to heidelbergensis, the Neanderthals to us. It has always been assumed the reason that Homo sapiens succeeded where others failed is to do with our large brains. Comparing skulls it's clear Neanderthals had just as big a brain as us, so why is there only us left? Alice goes to meet Svante Paabo, who is decoding the Neanderthal and human genome, and Clive Finlayson, who is unearthing the Neanderthals' final settlement, to try to find out.audio_videoPID:p00jjjyzTue, 30 Oct 2018 21:24:09 GMTOur Girl / Nigeria, Belize and Bangladesh Tours: Episode 8http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bcqwn5
Georgie is caught in the crossfire when another attempt is made on Inspector Chowdhrey's life, forcing her to re-examine her feelings for her captain. With Chowdhrey's son Sumon still missing, Georgie persuades James to call in special forces. A daring mission is conceived, but 2 Section find themselves in a deadly shoot out with the drug gang to recover Sumon and halt the yaba trade.audio_videoPID:b0bcqwn5Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:10:37 GMTOur School / Series 4: 16. Eyes on the Prizehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsvvpj
It's a big battle of brainpower as each form faces the other in a fiercely fought quiz. The victors will win a pizza party, the losers are going to get gunged. It's all to play for!audio_videoPID:b0bsvvpjTue, 13 Nov 2018 17:30:00 GMTOver the Hedgehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pk5w7
Spring has sprung, and Verne and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter's nap to discover that a large, green hedge has cropped up right through the middle of their once-natural habitat. Enter RJ, an opportunistic raccoon who explains that the world beyond the hedge is 'the gateway to the good life' where peculiar creatures called humans live to eat, rather than eat to live. Verne, suspicious of RJ, believes that there is more to him than meets the eye and attempts to keep his family safely on their side of the hedge. Achieving that will not prove to be an easy feat.
Featuring the voices of Thomas Haden Church (Dwayne), Allison Janney (Gladys), Omid Djalili (Tiger), Avril Lavigne (Heather), Catherine O'Hara (Penny), Eugene Levy (Lou), Bruce Willis (RJ), Garry Shandling (Verne), Steve Carell (Hammy), Wanda Sykes (Stella), William Shatner (Ozzie) and Nick Nolte (Vincent).audio_videoPID:b00pk5w7Sat, 17 Nov 2018 10:00:00 GMTPablo / Series 1: 33. Mr Whizzyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09zbxz9
Pablo gets very excited by Mum's mechanical hand whisk. He draws Mr Whizzy, and he and Tang get even more excited as he whizzes up everything and makes a huge mess!audio_videoPID:b09zbxz9Mon, 19 Nov 2018 09:15:00 GMTPeople Just Do Nothing / Series 5: Episode 2http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06qxsnv
With the station back up and running, Kurupt FM decide to have a go at live streaming to widen their fan base. Craig introduces Beats to the world of higher education and there is trouble in paradise for Chabuddy. Miche is waiting for the right time to tell Grindah about the move but has a plan to make it easier on Angel.audio_videoPID:p06qxsnvMon, 19 Nov 2018 22:30:00 GMTPeter Kay's Comedy Shuffle / Series 3: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bsrgmc
Our celebration of one of Britain's favourite comedians comes to end with a quiz night down at the Phoenix Club, a triumphant victory for Geraldine McQueen and Max and Paddy have a singalong with some bewildered Asian Elders.
Featuring a special appearance from David Jason.audio_videoPID:b0bsrgmcMon, 19 Nov 2018 21:30:00 GMTPeter Rabbit / Series 2: 35. The Tale of the Squabbling Squirrelshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mv3sv
When Felix and Nutkin quarrel, leaving the Squirrel Camp in chaos, it's down to Peter to help them make up before disaster strikes.audio_videoPID:b06mv3svSun, 18 Nov 2018 08:25:00 GMTPhilippines: Island Treasureshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bnfh7w
Nature fanatic Mike Dilger and BBC World News broadcaster Rico Hizon go in search of rich culture and rare wildlife in the Philippines.
Travelling through the beautiful, tropical islands of Palawan, Coron and Luzon, Mike and Rico discover creatures living deep in an underground river, visit the eerie hanging coffins of Sagada and team up with local conservation teams as part of their journey to explore the distinct beauty, history and contemporary culture of these islands.audio_videoPID:b0bnfh7wWed, 24 Oct 2018 01:23:08 GMTPress / Series 1: 6. Resonancehttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bnb48j
Duncan attempts to spend quality time with his son Fred, but finds it difficult in the face of Sarah's open hostility, and she informs Duncan that she and her boyfriend Max intend for him never to see Fred again.
Holly struggles to separate her personal grievances from her professional ambitions. She adds to Duncan's troubles by threatening to publicly expose his relationship with Kristina, the sex worker with whom he has a longstanding arrangement. In anticipation of the splash, Duncan is forced to explain to Fred that he has been paying for sex, while Kristina has questions of her own for Holly.
James reopens communication with Jon Brooks, an MI5 source who is ready to blow the whistle on the government's Resonance programme. When Amina and Holly learn what the programme entails, they are convinced that the story will be the most important The Herald will ever run.
Emmerson presents Duncan with a seemingly impossible task, and Ed is forced to examine his own journalistic ethics, while Holly and Duncan go head to head.audio_videoPID:b0bnb48jThu, 11 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTPrince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0br9x0l
A special documentary to mark the 70th birthday of HRH the Prince of Wales.
For this observational documentary, film-maker John Bridcut has had exclusive access to the prince over the past 12 months, both at work and behind the scenes, at home and abroad. He speaks to those who know him best, including HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. His sons discuss their upbringing and their feelings about the prince's working life.
As the prince reaches his 70th birthday, he has been involved in public affairs for 50 years, championing environmental and social issues long before they reached the mainstream, from plastic waste and global warming to lack of opportunity for young people.
The documentary charts the prince's working life at a time when he is taking on an increasing amount of duties in support of the Queen. He is seen on working visits to County Durham, Cornwall and the Brecon Beacons, and at home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Birkhall in Aberdeenshire.
The film features behind-the-scenes footage of the Prince with the Queen in Buckingham Palace at the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April, when the prince was named as the next head of the Commonwealth.
Also included is the stunning ceremonial welcome given to the prince in the Pacific island republic of Vanuatu, when he was invested as a high chief, and his visit to three Caribbean countries struggling to recover after hurricanes Irma and Maria a year ago.
What emerges is a revealing and intimate portrait of the longest-serving heir to the throne, who still feels he has a lot more to do.audio_videoPID:b0br9x0lThu, 08 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTPrincess Margaret: The Rebel Royal / Series 1: 2. Castawayhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bkz5wv
The second film in this intimate portrait finds Princess Margaret and her husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones at the start of their married life in the early 1960s. At home with celebrities and artists, they are riding the wave of a cultural and sexual revolution that is transforming Britain.
In 1965, they set off on an official royal tour of the United States. From California to small-town Arizona, the royal couple promote Britain by day and party by night. They attend a dinner with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a world where Hollywood royalty increasingly competes with the real thing. In Britain, the press starts to ask if the extravagant royal tour is a good way to spend public money. The mystique of monarchy is being increasingly undermined by the emergence of a more open and egalitarian society.
In the years that follow, Anthony Armstrong-Jones begins to withdraw from royal duties and the couple lead increasingly separate lives. Press speculation about the state of their marriage intensifies. In the 1970s Margaret retreats more and more to the Caribbean island of Mustique in an attempt to secure a private life. In an era of celebrity gossip and the telephoto lens, her relationship with a younger man and beach parties with rock stars like Mick Jagger lead to ever more press interest. As Britain lurches from one economic crisis to the next, Margaret's Caribbean lifestyle becomes the lightning rod for republican attacks on the monarchy.
In 1978, Margaret reflects changing attitudes sweeping the country and gets a divorce. The rebel royal is now increasingly eclipsed by a new generation of princesses. But in her own way, Princess Margaret helped pave the way for them and for the monarchy of the 21st century.
Contributors include Lady Anne Glenconner, a childhood friend who became her lady-in-waiting, Jane Stevens, one of her closest friends, Basil Charles, the owner of a bar on the Caribbean island of Mustique, David Griffin, Princess Margaret's chauffeur, and Craig Brown, her unofficial biographer.audio_videoPID:b0bkz5wvFri, 21 Sep 2018 14:46:01 GMTProfessor Green / Living in Povertyhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p059b6sp
In Britain today, one in four children are growing up in poverty. Experts say these figures are predicted to rise by nearly one million in the next five years. Rapper turned documentary maker Professor Green (aka Stephen Manderson) has done well, but he grew up in a home where there was a lot of stress over money.
In this intimate documentary, he sets out to uncover what life is like for young people living on the breadline today. Over a period of months, Professor Green spends time with ten-year-old Kelly Louise, whose family have just been evicted from their home. They can't afford a deposit on a new property, and facing the possibility of being homeless, Kelly Louise's life is turned upside down.
He also follows the story of 14-year-old Tyler, who has been living in cramped emergency accommodation for 18 months. Professor Green is witness to the damaging consequences of poverty on Tyler's life now and his future.audio_videoPID:p059b6spFri, 05 Oct 2018 14:57:29 GMTLouis Theroux / Altered States: 2. Choosing Deathhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bshjrp
In the US, there are now six states that offer the terminally ill the option of ending their lives with a prescribed cocktail of drugs.
Louis heads to California, one of the latest states to adopt this law, where residents can now take home a lethal overdose as long as they are terminally ill, of sound mind and strong enough to administer their own prescribed dose.
Here, Louis is invited into the family homes of those who want control over ending their own lives. But he discovers that when you have complete autonomy over your own death, choosing the right time is not such a simple decision.
Louis also meets a group who provide information about how to die to those who don't fit the legal criteria. With them, he meets a woman planning to end her life long before what would appear to be her natural time, raising complex moral and legal questions about how much control we should have over our own deaths.audio_videoPID:b0bshjrpSun, 18 Nov 2018 22:05:00 GMTLucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queenhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09cfwt4
Historian Lucy Worsley teams up with artist and materials scientist Zoe Laughlin to explore the explosive science and fascinating history of fireworks, using an original pyrotechnics instruction manual, and other 400-year-old historical documents, to recreate one of the most spectacular fireworks displays from the Tudor era.
Lucy and Zoe are joined by a team of top class pyrotechnicians to replicate a mind-blowing fireworks display especially designed for Queen Elizabeth I - one of the first documented firework displays in England. Lucy pieces together clues from some of the earliest instruction manuals for making fireworks in England, as well as eyewitness accounts of the display laid on in 1575. Armed with this information, the team apply their understanding of cutting-edge pyrotechnics to recreate it in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, where it was originally staged.
Using hands-on experiments to test their designs, the team construct Tudor rockets, firework fountains and a fire-breathing dragon, as well as discovering the secrets of Elizabethan gunpowder.
Throughout the show, Lucy explores the history of the three-week extravaganza laid on by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in his final attempt to win the queen's hand in marriage - from the elaborate food the Tudor audience would have eaten, to the colours that the set might have been painted in.
She also reveals the important role fireworks had during the Tudor era - from the firework effects used on stage at the Globe Theatre to the pyrotechnical experimentation that took place at the Tower of London, the MI5 of its day.
But not all the clues can be found in England - some of the fireworks described need to be tracked down further afield. Lucy travels to Italy to recreate the mysterious Girandola - a horizontal spinning wheel of fire - whilst Zoe flies to South Korea to witness the ancient, and rather terrifying, rocket box launcher in action.
The danger and technical challenges involved in recreating 400-year-old fireworks creates a real sense of scale and event. And the detective work needed to decipher these Tudor pyrotechnic manuals, and the engineering ingenuity to recreate them, form the narrative spine of the film, culminating in a spectacular recreation of Elizabeth I's mind-blowing firework display at Kenilworth Castle.audio_videoPID:b09cfwt4Mon, 05 Nov 2018 23:30:00 GMTLuisa Omielan's Politics for Bitches / Series 1: 4. Public Spendinghttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06nkbhp
Luisa Omielan tackles public spending on services such as the police, the NHS and local councils. Luisa looks at her local council, Birmingham, to see how cuts have affected the city. With not enough money in the government coffers, she looks at who could contribute more. From big business, the elderly and workers in the gig economy, she looks at all these options. This subject is also a personal one for Luisa as her mum died of cancer last year, and she feels underfunding may have played a part in why her mum didn't get the best treatment when she was ill.audio_videoPID:p06nkbhpSun, 21 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMTThe Machine Gun and Skye's Band of Brothershttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03z2d1g
In the summer of 1914, a company of Cameron Highlanders left Portree and sailed off to war. On the battlefields of France, these raw recruits would meet the Maxim machine gun - invented in London, and capable of firing a hellish 666 rounds per minute. The German army deployed these weapons with mathematical efficiency.
Neil Oliver examines the development of these ruthless, impersonal weapons, and the legacy they left in one Hebridean community.audio_videoPID:b03z2d1gThu, 01 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTMadame Tussaud: A Legend in Waxhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08cgm56
The remarkable true story of the woman behind the worldwide waxworks empire, Madame Tussaud.
In an astonishing life that spanned both the French and Industrial revolutions, this single mother and entrepreneur travelled across the Channel to England, where she overcame the odds to establish her remarkable and enduring brand. Determined to leave an account of who she was and the times she lived through, her memoirs, letters and papers offer a unique insight into the creation of the extraordinary empire which bears her name.audio_videoPID:b08cgm56Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMTMade in Great Britain / Series 1: 3. Hatshttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs2twg
In this episode, the makers discover Luton's glamourous secret. While today the town is famous for its airport, it is a little-known fact that Luton once led the world in hat-making. The team learn how the hat industry was transformed from a small rural craft into a global fashion phenomenon. Even today, every fashionable milliner from Philip Treacy to Stephen Jones goes to Luton for their millinery supplies. Presenter Steph McGovern takes the makers through the ages, and they are guided by Awon Golding, a rising millinery star.
The makers begin their journey in the 18th century, making a fashionable straw Bergere hat. They sort individual pieces of straw into correct lengths, before plaiting it and hand-stitching it into a bonnet shape. The makers are shocked to learn that this painstaking work was done by children, some as young as 18 months old.
Next, it's the 1920s, when everyone in Britain was wearing a hat. The makers attempt to create a felt 'cloche' and 'trilby'. First, they make coloured dyes for their hats, which proves to be a long, arduous and smelly process. Then, they work against the clock to 'block' felt hats into shape in order to satisfy the massive demands of the era.
The makers then move into the world of modern-day couture millinery. There are still 17 hat-making businesses in Luton making extraordinary creations and their many high-profile clients include the royal family. Here, the makers are given complete free reign to produce a hat that expresses their personality.audio_videoPID:b0bs2twgFri, 16 Nov 2018 22:00:00 GMTMaid in Hell: Why Slavery?http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06mfbc9
Documentary about the 2.8 million migrant women who work as maids in the Middle East. They are bound to their employers under a system known as Kafala. Often trapped and abused, this is their story.audio_videoPID:p06mfbc9Sun, 04 Nov 2018 23:00:00 GMTMark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema / Series 1: 5. Horrorhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bfp4h7
Mark Kermode continues his fresh and very personal look at the art of cinema by examining the techniques and conventions behind classic film genres, uncovering the ingredients that keep audiences coming back for more.
Mark turns to horror and shows how film-makers have devilishly deployed a range of cinematic tricks to exploit our deepest, darkest and most elemental fears. He explores the recurring elements of horror, including the journey, the jump scare, the scary place, the monster and the chase. He reveals how they have been refined and reinvented in films as diverse as the silent classic The Phantom of the Opera, low-budget cult shockers The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Evil Dead, and Oscar-winners The Silence of the Lambs and Get Out. Mark analyses the importance of archetypal figures such as the clown, the savant and the 'final girl'. And of course, he celebrates his beloved Exorcist films by examining two unforgettable but very different shock moments in The Exorcist and The Exorcist III.
Ultimately, Mark argues, horror is the most cinematic of genres, because no other kind of film deploys images and sound to such powerful and primal effect.audio_videoPID:b0bfp4h7Wed, 15 Aug 2018 11:56:18 GMTMary Magdalene: Art's Scarlet Womanhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08ljvt7
Waldemar Januszczak explores the impact of Mary Magdalene's myth on art and artists. All saints in art are inventions, but no saint in art has been invented quite as furiously as Mary Magdalene. For a thousand years, artists have been throwing themselves at the task of describing her and telling her story, from Caravaggio to Cezanne, Rubens to Rembrandt, Titian to van Gogh.
Her identity has evolved from being the close follower of Jesus who was the first witness to his resurrection, to one of a prostitute and sinner who escaped from persecution in the Holy Land by fleeing across the Mediterranean to end up living in a cave as a hermit in the south of France, enjoying ecstatic experiences with Christ.audio_videoPID:b08ljvt7Mon, 12 Nov 2018 02:00:00 GMTMasterChef: The Professionals / Series 11: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs6jxz
Celebrated MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace, chef Monica Galetti and Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing are together once again in their search for the UK's finest cooking talent.
This quarter-final sees the six strongest chefs from this week's heats attempt to impress Monica and Marcus in two high-stakes challenges. First up the chefs face a brand new challenge - the judge's favourite ingredient test. The six chefs are challenged to invent a dish centred on one key ingredient. This week, Marcus has chosen for the chefs to elevate a great staple of any kitchen - the potato. With a whole host of varieties and a never-ending list of ways to cook the potato Marcus is hoping for ingenuity, elegance and above all great tasting plates of food from these chefs. The chefs have ten minutes to choose from a range of ingredients and 70 minutes to cook a plate of food that delivers the humble spud as the star of the show. Only the four stand out chefs go on to the next challenge, to cook for the restaurant critics - for two chefs it is the end of the competition.
The remaining four professionals go on to cook their food for three of the UK's most discerning restaurant critics. They need to impress Tracey MacLeod, Tom Parker Bowles and Jay Rayner. The critics dish up their insight and unrestrained opinion on the food. With only one hour and 15 minutes to cook a two-course menu designed to dazzle the critics and the judges, the chefs battle to remain calm in the kitchen. Only the three most talented chefs will go through to Knockout Week and continue their pursuit of the MasterChef: The Professionals 2018 title.audio_videoPID:b0bs6jxzThu, 15 Nov 2018 21:00:00 GMTMasters of the Pacific Coast: The Tribes of the American Northwest / 2. Survivalhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mlplp
Two-part documentary in which archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper explores the extraordinary and resilient culture of the American north west, revealing one the most inspiring stories in human history.
1,400 miles of rugged, windswept and rocky coastline in what is now the Alaskan panhandle, British Columbia and Washington state have been home to hundreds of distinct communities for over 10,000 years. Theirs is the longest continuing culture to be found anywhere in the Americas. They mastered a tough environment to create unique and complex communities that have redefined how human societies develop. They produced art infused with meaning that ranks alongside any other major civilisation on earth. And they were very nearly wiped out - by foreign disease, oppression and theft of their lands. But a deep connection to the environment lies at the heart of their endurance, and - unlike many indigenous cultures annihilated following European contact - their culture sustains and has much to offer the rest of the world today.
In the second episode, Jago reveals how a cultural tradition that began over 10,000 years ago managed to survive against the odds. Following European contact, the indigenous peoples of what is now south east Alaska, British Columbia and Washington state suffered disease, theft of their land and oppression. But Jago argues that northwest coast culture has an extraordinary resilience. Its connection to the land has been developed over thousands of years, which meant that it was able to adapt and transform when faced with threats and disruption. These qualities make it one of the longest continuous cultures in the Americas.audio_videoPID:b07mlplpThu, 25 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTMatron, Medicine and Me / Series 2: 5. Denise Lewishttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bbv8h8
Denise Lewis returns to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton to retrace the footsteps of her grandmother, who worked as a nurse for 40 years after arriving from Jamaica in the 1950s. Through meeting current and former NHS staff, Denise sees how the NHS has changed through the years and what her grandmother's experiences would have been as a Jamaican nurse in 1950s and 1960s Britain.
Denise explores what has changed at the hospital since her grandmother worked there, getting a glimpse into their brand new heart and lung centre and witnessing the cutting-edge surgery that the NHS provides.
But there is another, even more personal reason that Denise wants to return - for the hospital her nan worked in is the one which treated and cared for her before she passed away in 2005 from breast cancer. Denise visits the ward her nan was treated in and hears stories of life in the NHS today from patients and staff there.
The number of people surviving some of the most common types of cancer has doubled since the foundation of National Health Service 70 years ago. Denise meets NHS doctors to hear why that is and meets the patients undergoing groundbreaking anti-cancer treatments.audio_videoPID:b0bbv8h8Fri, 20 Jul 2018 09:00:00 GMTMediterranean with Simon Reeve / Series 1: Episode 4http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqn4g1
Simon Reeve embarks on the fourth and final leg of his epic four-part journey around the Mediterranean. Taking a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar, Simon's first stop is Ceuta, a Spanish exclave surrounded by Morocco. This is one of the few land borders between Africa and the European Union. Simon joins the Spanish border police who check engines and even dashboards for stowaways trying to reach Europe. Migrant and refugees attempting to cross Ceuta's fortress border have quadrupled in the last year. Undaunted by Morocco's failure to issue a filming permit, Simon crosses the border as a tourist, tracking down a group of young migrants hiding out in a forest close to Ceuta. They have travelled thousands of miles, crossing the Sahara to get this far, and now they are just a 20-foot, razor wire fence away from their European dream.
Crossing the Med to Spain, one the busiest shipping lanes in the world, Simon discovers huge numbers of dolphins and even giant whales surviving by dodging the ferries, container ships and oil tankers. Travelling along the arid southern Spanish coast, Simon takes to air to witness the sea of plastic that form over a hundred square miles of greenhouses. It is where much of our supermarket fruit and veg are grown, but as Simon discovers it is a massive industry built on the back of a low paid, migrant workforce. Following in the footsteps of four million Brits who make the journey every year, Simon travels to the Costa Blanca and its most famous resort, Benidorm. Derided by many, Simon is surprised to learn that high-rise Benidorm is now being hailed by experts as a model of sustainable tourism. The Mediterranean region attracts a third of world tourism and visitor numbers are predicted to rise to half a billion a year by the end of the next decade. Simon travels to a western corner of Corsica, a nature reserve that must be one of the most heavily protected bits of sea on earth, and one of the few places where tourists are actively discouraged from visiting. Lying on the beach, hiking in the mountains and watersport activities are all banned. The park's manager shows Simon the results, taking him for a dive in the fishiest place in the Med. In a sea where over ninety percent of fish stocks are over exploited, it is a beacon of hope in what is otherwise an uncertain future for the Mediterranean.audio_videoPID:b0bqn4g1Sun, 28 Oct 2018 21:00:00 GMTMelody / Series 2: 10. Imaginationhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05p31nl
Mum is taking Melody to an art gallery. Melody loves looking at all the different artwork, which Mum describes to her. While they are having a sit down, Melody is inspired by the artists that have used their imagination for the abstract art and asks for some music so she can use her imagination. Mum gives her Carnival of Animals - The Swan, by Camille Saint-Saens, which lets Melody use her imagination to become all sorts of different things.audio_videoPID:b05p31nlMon, 19 Nov 2018 13:00:00 GMTMim Shaikh: Finding Dadhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06cn857
Mim Shaikh is a radio broadcaster, actor and spoken word artist. He has loved to entertain since he was a child, but there's always been something, or someone, missing.
When Mim was just six months old his mother left his father in the West Midlands, taking Mim with her to south London. Mim never saw or heard from his father again. He grew up surrounded by his mother's family, with barely a mention of his father. They have no idea where he is or whether he is alive or dead. Mim's mother has suffered from mental health problems all her life and it has been impossible for Mim to ask her about his father.
In this film Mim embarks on a deeply personal journey, delving into his family history to discover the truth of what happened to his parents' marriage. His main quest is to find his dad and ask him why his mother had to leave all those years ago - and why he's never been in touch.
Information on his father is almost non-existent. Mim starts his search with three photos of his dad taken in 1991 that he's never seen before. Speaking for the first time to close family members about his parents' marriage, he begins to build a picture of his father's character. As he delves deeper into his father's story, he discovers his dad is far older than he expected - he fears that he may have died and his search will be in vain.
His search takes him to Dudley, which is where he was born and which is his dad's last known location. But every lead turns out to be a dead end, until he meets a group of his dad's old friends who break his case wide open. Mim sets out on an unforgettable global journey to finally get the answers he's been wanting for 26 years.audio_videoPID:p06cn857Thu, 18 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMTThe Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan / Series 1: Episode 3http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bc25p4
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan travels to Albania to get an insider's guide to the country and to find out whether his own preconceptions about the Eastern European outpost are right. From a brief glance at an atlas, Albania has everything - beaches on the same coastline as Greece and Croatia, hills to trek in and stunning mountains. But for some reason all the average Brit knows about Albania is the old black and white clips from the communist era - and most of those have been mistaken for clips shot in Moscow.
On arrival, Romesh does indeed discover a country that is bleak and miserable, but then again it is raining, and even his native Crawley seems a bit lacklustre in the rain. Guided by local TV presenter and journalist Erjona Rusi, Romesh is taken on a whistle-stop tour of the country. He visits the beaches (apparently stunning in the summer, but when Ramesh arrives it is -10 degrees) and is hosted on a unique homestay in a beautiful isolated shepherd's village, where he is sent out on overnight wolf patrol and then embarks on a treacherous seven-hour journey into the mountains.
Along the way, Romesh tries to discover why Albania has remained a stubbornly unfashionable holiday destination, while many other formerly communist nations have leapt ahead. Romesh meets those at the extremes of this unique country, from the rural farmers to the billionaire playboys who live in the cities next to supermodels. He ends up with sheep poo mysteriously smeared across his back and, in a move he will doubtless come to regret, a tattoo emblazoned across his forearm. He finds a people desperate to throw off their reputation as the home of eastern mafia gangs, lots of Raki and a level of hospitality that he describes as 'second to none' as he gets an insider's guide to Albania.audio_videoPID:b0bc25p4Tue, 31 Jul 2018 15:39:21 GMTMortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing / Series 1: Episode 6http://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bcv0cz
In this final episode, Paul and Bob decide to try and catch a legendary pike, which is perhaps not the best idea for two men of a certain age with heart problems.
In the cosy cottage where they are staying, they invite a consultant cardiologist for dinner to talk about their medical past and their future, gaining tips on how to live the most healthy life possible. Facing the future, they write a eulogy for each other as the sun sets on their final fishing expedition.audio_videoPID:b0bcv0czWed, 25 Jul 2018 21:30:00 GMTMother's Dayhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bj7ldv
On the day before Mother's Day 1993, Colin and Wendy Parry's lives are torn apart when their youngest son Tim is killed in a terrorist attack by the IRA in Warrington's town centre. The attack shocks ordinary people on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Sue McHugh, an unassuming and normally shy Dublin housewife, is deeply affected by the tragedy. Spurred into action by the events in Warrington and the hope that she can make a difference, Sue urges people across Ireland to demonstrate that the killings on all sides must stop. But has Sue underestimated the challenge of brokering peace in a community that has known only conflict?
As the grieving Parrys search desperately for answers to their son's senseless killing, they form an alliance with Sue, her husband Arthur, and her Peace '93 movement, travelling to Dublin in a bid to bring about peace and ensure Tim's enduring legacy is one of hope and tolerance. Based on real events.audio_videoPID:b0bj7ldvThu, 06 Sep 2018 15:18:27 GMTMy Life / Series 10: 3. Going For Goldhttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bpr535
Eleven-year-old Anna and 15-year-old Aidan were the youngest competitors at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. We follow them as they prepare for the competition of their lives.audio_videoPID:b0bpr535Fri, 26 Oct 2018 17:00:00 GMTMy Story / Series 2: 25. Childhood 100 Years Agohttp://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d9cfk
Mummy Jade and her daughter Sylvie find out what it was like to be a child 100 years ago. Together, they step back in time and experience school, the playground and home life in the olden days, and get to dig for potatoes in an allotment!audio_videoPID:b04d9cfkTue, 06 Nov 2018 17:10:00 GMT